JOSIAH  FLYNT 


AND 


FRANCIS  WALTON 


LIBRARY 

OF    THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 

Class 


(p* 


The   Powers  that  Prey 


The 

Powers  That  Prey 


by 

Josiah  Flynt 

Lc^o-A 

I,    tffltf 

Francis  Walton /t^^^'^ 

^ty^Afe***^ 

li  ii    • 


New  York 

McClure,  Phillips  &  Co. 
igoo 


GENERAL 


COPYRIGHT,  1900, 
By  McCLUEE,  PHILLIPS  &  CO. 

FIRST  IMPRESSION,  OCTOBER,  1900. 
SECOND  IMPRESSION,  NOVEMBER,  1900. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

INTRODUCTION,       .        ...       .        .        .  v 

IN  THE  MATTER  OF  His  NIBS,,     .        .  .      t 

A  BILL  FROM  TIFFANY'S,     : 27 

THE  REVENGE  OF  THE  FOUR,       .        .        .        .56 

THE  ORDER  OF  THE  PENITENTS,  .        .        .        .85 

THE  PRISON  DEMON,     .        .        .*       .        .        .  in 
THE  GREAT  IDEA,  .        .        .        .        .        .136 

FOUND  GUILTY,      .        .    ".,-.      ....  167 

ON  SENTENCE  DAY, 189 

PEGGIE  NIVEN, 209 

A  DEAD  ONE,        .......  242 


1.03096 


UNIVERSITY 


INTRODUCTION. 


Criminologists  have  thought  it  more  impor 
tant  to  photograph  the  outcast's  facial  angle  than 
to  see  the  outcast  and  his  world  as  he  himself  sees 
them.  Having  determined  from  the  start  that  the 
outcast  is  an  inferior,  they  have  looked  for  stig 
mata  of  degeneration  in  him  and  have  found  what 
they  looked  for.  They  would  have  found  stig 
mata  of  degeneration  in  any  other  body  of  men 
whom  they  had  examined  with  a  like  pertinacity 
and  preconception ;  they  have  found  them  indeed 
in  practically  all  of  the  men  of  light  and  leading 
known  in  history.  Men  of  science  and  romanti 
cists  have  used  the  outcast  as  a  point  of  departure 
for  the  esthetic  imagination  and  have  taken  it  for 
granted  that  he  is  not  so  interesting  as  they  can 
fancy  him.  They  have  constructed  for  them 
selves  two  stock  characters — a  simplified  human 
brute,  an  epitome  of  the  stigmata  of  degenera 
tion,  half-witted,  cunning,  sullen,  furious ;  and  an 
abstract  mathematical  detective  who  sees  the  hu- 


Introduction 

man  world  as  a  magnified  chessboard  and  solves 
problems  in  check  and  checkmate. 

It  may  with  great  safety  be  said  that  both 
these  stock  characters  belong  to  the  realm  of  in 
tellectual  opera  bouffe.  People  in  the  Under 
World  differ  more  in  their  circumstances  than 
in  their  psychology  from  people  in  the  Upper. 
In  both  worlds  there  is  a  majority  disposed  rather 
to  bear  the  ills  they  have  than  to  fly  to  others 
that  they  know  not  of;  and  in  both  there  is  a 
minority  to  whom  the  ordinary  lot  of  their  class 
is  simply  intolerable.  In  the  Upper  World  this 
minority  become  the  "  plungers  "  in  the  bus 
iness,  social,  and  political  spheres ;  the  entrepren 
eurs,  who  assume  great  risks  on  the  chance  of 
great  returns,  and  are  reckless  of  disaster  whether 
to  others  or  themselves.  In  the  Under  World 
this  minority  become  the  gambler,  the  thief,  and 
the  harlot.  In  both  worlds  the  minority  want 
honor  and  power  in  their  own  world,  and  in  both 
they  obtain  their  success  by  a  combination 
of  enterprise,  intelligence,  unscrupulousness, 
diligence,  and  sheer,  rude  power  of  will.  The 
unscrupulousness  in  the  Upper  World  may  con 
sist  only  in  a  bold  stand  against  public  opinion 
to  gain  an  advantage,  or  in  the  violation  in  case 
vi 


Introduction 

of  need  of  the  conventions  of  a  class ;  but  it  must 
be  remembered  that  the  Under  World  has  its 
conventions  as  well  as  the  Upper,  and  that  a  levy 
of  blackmail  is  regarded  in  the  side-streets  with 
the  mixture  of  indignation  and  admiring  approval 
with  which  a  ruthless  manipulation  of  stocks  or 
a  particularly  audacious  stroke  in  politics  is  re 
garded  in  "  society."  If  Huxley  is  right  in  his 
contention  that  there  is  a  "  fixed  order  of  things 
which  sends  social  disorganization  upon  the 
track  of  immorality  as  surely  as  it  sends  physical 
disease  after  physical  trespasses,"  then  a  correct 
understanding  of  the  Under  World  and  its  rela 
tions  to  the  whole  body  of  society  is  a  matter  of 
prime  importance. 

High  life  in  the  Under  World  consists  in  the 
doings  of  the  personages  and  potentates  of  side- 
streets;  and  the  most  significant  feature  in  their 
life,  both  to  themselves  and  to  the  rest  of  us,  lies 
in  the  league  between  the  Powers  That  Rule  and 
the  Powers  That  Prey.  The  Platonic  idea  of  the 
case  is  that  between  detective  and  criminal  there 
exists  a  natural  feud  like  that  between  the  shep 
herd  and  the  wolf.  The  similitude  is  perfect  in 
but  one  respect :  both  wolf  and  shepherd  live  at 
the  expense  of  the  flock.  High  life  in  the  Un- 
vii 


Introduction 

der  World  is  a  maze  of  tolerances,  private  con 
tracts,  understandings,  courtesies;  the  shep 
herd  and  the  wolf  not  infrequently  kill  and  eat 
their  lamb  together.  The  Powers  That  Rule 
take  tithes,  the  Powers  That  Prey  prey  by  per 
mission  and  surrender  part  of  their  plunder  for 
the  right  to  walk  invisible. 

Nor  is  this  league  a  mere  accident  or  a  simple 
exhibition  on  the  part  of  the  Powers  That  Rule 
of  total  depravity :  without  the  league  the  govern 
ing  body  would  t>e  helpless  to  perform  their  offi 
cial  duties  even  so  well  as  they  at  present  perform 
them.  It  is  not  true  that  the  Powers  That  Rule 
protect  in  part  the  Powers  That  Prey  in  order 
that  on  the  whole  they  may  keep  the  Powers  That 
Prey  in  check ;  it  is  true  that  the  condition  of  their 
being  able  on  the  whole  to  keep  the  Powers  That 
Prey  in  check  is  that  they  in  part  protect  them. 
A  community  wholly  policed  by  men  of  perfect 
integrity  would  lie  at  the  mercy  of  its  criminal 
contingent.  A  policeman  or  detective  protects 
the  spot  he  stands  on  and  so  much  of  the  street 
as  he  can  see  and  can  reach  with  a  bullet  from  his 
revolver.  His  actual  presence  at  the  commission 
of  a  crime  is  an  accident  against  which  great  pre 
cautions  have  usually  been  taken ;  and  apart  from 
viii 


Introduction 

his  actual  presence  he  is  only  less  helpless  than 
another  man  to  trace  the  criminal.  The  real  de 
tective  in  a  community  is  the  whole  body  of  well- 
disposed  citizens;  the  official  detective  or  police 
man  is  mainly  serviceable  in  making  the  arrest; 
and  even  the  vigilance  of  the  whole  body  of  the 
well  disposed  is  to  an  extreme  degree  insufficient. 
The  professional  criminal  does  not  consort  with 
the  well  disposed ;  they  do  not  live  in  his  world ; 
they  are  not  familiar  with  his  face  nor  privy  to  his 
goings  and  comings;  they  have  no  means  of 
knowing  when  he  is  "  broke  "  and  when  he  is 
flush;  it  is  not  to  them  in  his  moments  of  unre 
serve  that  he  makes  his  indiscreet  confidences. 
The  only  men  that  know  who  has  committed  a 
given  crime  are  the  criminal  and  his  associates; 
the  really  effective  detectives  in  the  great  cities  of 
the  United  States  are  the  unofficial  detectives,  the 
spies  and  traitors  in  the  criminal  classes ;  and  the 
official  detective  who  does  not  know  where  to  lay 
his  hand  on  such  a  spy  or  traitor  and  how  to  lay 
it  on  heavily  is  practically  useless  except  as  a 
watchman. 

The  following  tales  are  records  of  incidents  in 
the  working  of  the  league.  A  reader  who  looks 
in  them  for  monsters  of  hate  and  wickedness 

ix 


Introduction 

brought  to  the  point  of  arrest  by  monsters  of  in 
tellectual  astuteness  will  be  disappointed.  He 
will  find  in  them  the  history  of  certain  incon 
spicuous  events,  of  some  of  which  he  will  have 
read  notices  in  the  public  prints.  He  will  find 
in  them  the  inner  history  of  the  adventures  of 
waifs  and  strays,  who  at  their  best  needs  must 
play  a  losing  game;  who,  with  all  their  energy 
and  pride  of  life  are  doomed  to  pay ;  who  almost 
never  die  rich ;  who  end  oftenest  "  dead  "  ;  who 
have  the  world  abidingly  against  them,  and  never 
greatly  concerned,  even  when  it  does  not  know 
them  for  what  they  are,  to  protect  their  property 
or  life.  It  is  this  element  in  the  rogues'  tragedy 
which  justifies,  aesthetically,  the  blackness  of  the 
role  assigned  to  the  detective.  He  that  striketh 
with  a  sword  shall  perish  by  the  sword,  or  rather 
by  a  thousand  swords. 


THE  POWERS  THAT  PREY. 


IN  THE  MATTER  OF  HIS  NIBS. 

I. 

There  were  two  James  Bisons,  one  of  eminent 
respectability  in  a  small  city  of  the  Empire  State ; 
the  other  "  one  of  the  boys  "  in  the  naughty 
city  of  New  York.  These  two  gentlemen  never 
met,  though  they  possessed  a  metaphysical  iden 
tity  with  each  other  and  an  alternate  existence. 
When  James  Dison  of  the  little  city  went  to  the 
metropolis  to  purchase  goods,  James  Dison  of  the 
naughty  city  received  his  letters  and  answered 
them;  in  particular,  letters  from  Mrs.  James 
Dison  of  the  little  city,  in  reply  to  which  he  in 
sisted,  very  properly,  on  his  eagerness  to  return 
to  the  delights  of  her  society,  and  added  certain 
instructions  demonstrating  that  even  during  his 
absence  his  thoughts  were  of  the  moral  welfare 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

of  that  community.  In  return  for  these  cour 
tesies  in  the  metropolis,  when  James  Dison  of  the 
small  city  revisited  his  accustomed  office  it 
was  his  practice  to  sign  and  forward  to  the 
naughty  city  certain  checks  in  payment  of  bills 
which  his  metaphysical  double  had  contracted ; 
some  of  them  for  ponderable  goods  to  be  de 
livered  at  home,  some  of  them  for  imponderable 
goods  such  as  the  naughty  city  notoriously  af 
fords. 

One  evening  in  April,  18 — ,  James  Dison  of 
the  naughty  city  found  himself  possessed  of  a  roll 
of  "  greenbacks "  and  of  a  handsome  watch, 
which  bore  a  striking  resemblance  to  a  gift  offi 
cially  and  oratorically  presented  in  February, 
1 8 — ,  by  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  and  the 
Bankers'  Association  of  the  other  city  to  their 
"  eminent  and  universally  honored  and  esteemed 
fellow  citizen  James  Dison,  who,  by  a  timely  ex 
hibition  of  public  spirit  and  self-sacrifice  lament 
ably  rare  in  this  day  of  pecuniary  ambition  and 
short-sighted  greed,  saved  the  prosperous  com 
munity  of from  a  local  panic."  The 

roll  of  greenbacks  James  Dison  of  the  naughty 
city  diminished  from  time  to  time  in  the  course 
of  the  evening  with  the  manner  and  gesture  of 


In  the  Matter  of  His  Nibs 

never-mind-the-change.  The  watch  he  con 
sulted  toward  six  o'clock  in  the  morning  with  an 
intellectual  intensity,  and  decided,  in  a  moment 
of  lucidity  remarkable  under  the  circumstances, 
that  he  had  made  a  night  of  it  and  would  take 
a  Turkish  bath.  When  he  had  emerged  from 
the  bath  and  had  breakfasted,  he  remembered 
that  he  had  an  appointment  in  Newark  at  the 
hour  of  ten,  and  that  the  ideal  way  to  go  to  that 
place  is  to  take  the  trolley,  which  he  did.  The 
conductor,  who  was  an  artist  in  words,  requested 
the  motorman  in  polite  reference  to  the  electric 
fluid  to  be  good  enough  to  "  turn  on  that 
juice." 

Burke  Ryan  was  a  gentleman  who  took  his  fun 
where  he  found  it  and  to  whom  the  universe  owed 
a  living.  A  certain  portion  of  his  fun  he  found 
in  the  naughtier  delights  of  the  naughty  city,  but 
he  had  received  a  good  education  and  read  Taci 
tus  and  Livy  in  the  "  aboriginal  "  and  was  a  con 
noisseur  in  scarf-pins.  In  the  intervals  of  his 
pleasures  he  collected  what  the  universe  owed 
him;  and  if  he  discovered  it  for  the  most  part  in 
the  pockets  of  other  people,  so  much  the  worse — 
for  the  other  people;  a  man  has  a  right  to  his 
own. 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

At  the  time  when  James  Dison  was  making  a 
night  of  it,  Burke  Ryan  saw  his  watch-chain,  and 
surmised  his  watch,  and  took  stock  of  his  roll  of 
bills  and  his  manner  and  gesture  of  never-mind- 
the-change.  Also  he  recognized  that  by  a  singu 
lar  exhibition  of  astuteness  he  himself  had  that 
day  at  the  races  lost  the  largest  odds  it  was 
mathematically  possible  to  lose,  and  that  it  was 
"  up  to  him  "  to  cut  and  cash  with  all  prompti 
tude  a  number  of  the  coupons  on  the  securities 
to  which  his  creditor  the  universe  had  given  him 
a  right.  One  of  the  coupons  that  was  obviously 
due  lay  for  safe-keeping  at  the  end  of  Bison's 
watch-chain  in  Bison's  waistcoat  pocket.  Burke 
had  discovered  this  fact  at  the  moment  when 
Bison  had  returned  his  watch  to  its  resting-place 
after  having  consulted  it  with  an  intellectual  in 
tensity.  Bison's  manner  of  handing  out  his  bills 
Burke  had  looked  upon  with  a  near  approach  to 
moral  indignation;  there  was  an  offensive  lack 
of  principle  in  throwing  away  money  that  the 
universe  owed  to  some  one  else. 

When  Bison  entered  the  bath-house,  Burke 
also  entered  it.  He  had  not  wanted  a  Turkish 
bath,  but  he  took  one  out  of  complaisance.  What 
he  wanted  really  was  to  "  touch  "  the  little  sum 

4 


In  the  Matter  of  His  Nibs 

which  was  coming  to  him,  and  to  go  to  bed. 
When  Dison  lingered  at  breakfast,  Burke  also 
lingered  at  breakfast,  though  with  a  growing  im 
patience  at  the  prolix  etiquette  of  modern  times. 
Not  so  many  hundred  years  ago  a  baron  of  the 
Under  World  in  his  position  would  have  taken 
shame  to  himself;  he  would  have  advanced  upon 
Dison  openly  and,  tapping  him  familiarly  on  the 
breast,  would  have  explained  that  he  had  taken  a 
fancy  to  certain  insignificant  trinkets,  of  which  he 
doubted  not  their  actual  possessor,  whose  atten 
tion  as  a  connoisseur  he  claimed  for  a  glance  at 
the  elegance  of  his  stiletto,  would  be  delighted  to 
make  him  a  present. 

When  Dison  entered  the  trolley-car,  Burke 
also  entered  it  and  took  a  place  beside  him,  al 
though  he  had  no  business  whatever  in  the  city 
to  which  that  gentleman  was  going.  When 
Dison  slept,  his  watch  transferred  itself  to  Burke's 
waistcoat ;  when  Dison  woke  he  discovered  in  his 
trousers-pocket  the  two  longest  and  deftest  fin 
gers  of  Burke's  right  hand.  Burke  was  at  once 
so  obliging  as  to  withdraw  the  fingers  and  with 
them  the  remnant  of  Dison's  roll  of  bills.  Then 
the  etiquette  of  modern  times  ceased  to  be  prolix 
and  the  scene  became  as  medieval  as  Burke 
could  have  wished. 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

Dison  seized  Burke  by  the  shoulder  and  spoke 
his  mind  with  a  medieval  vigor  and  idiom  which 
it  would  be  an  anachronism  to  record.  There 
were  two  women  and  twenty  men  in  the  car. 
The  two  women  expressed  the  judgment  of  their 
sex  upon  the  situation  inarticulately,  each  at  the 
top  of  her  voice;  the  twenty  men  with  one  im 
pulse  lurched  toward  Burke.  Burke  had  no 
stiletto  to  the  elegance  of  which  he  could  call 
Bison's  attention  as  a  connoisseur,  but  he  pro 
duced  a  remarkably  handsome  razor,  to  the  ele 
gance  of  which  he  called  Bison's  attention  and  the 
attention  of  every  one  in  the  car.  Everybody, 
Bison  in  particular,  evinced  a  sudden  interest  in 
reaching  the  street;  they  fell  over  themselves  in 
their  eagerness;  the  women  forgot  even  to 
scream,  and  one  of  them  forgot  the  way  to  the 
door  and  used  the  window.  The  facetious  con 
ductor  said  the  reason  he  got  off  was  that  he 
wanted  to  see  what  Burke's  razor  would  look  like 
from  a  distance.  The  last  to  desert  his  place  was 
the  motorman,  whom  Burke's  approach  seemed 
to  afflict  with  acute  insanity.  As  a  preliminary 
to  jumping  off  he  turned  on  the  full  current,  and 
when  the  car  bounded  forward  at  full  speed  he 
leaped.  He  did  not  wait  to  hold  by  the  handles 

6 


In  the  Matter  of  His  Nibs 

and  steady  himself  before  his  feet  touched  the 
ground;  he  just  naturally  got  off  and  did  gym 
nastics.  When  he  was  picked  up  afterward  he 
explained  that  he  had  been  in  a  hurry. 

"  Stop  thief !  "  yelled  the  chorus  in  the  road. 

"  Go  to  hell !  "  grinned  Burke. 

"  Find  a  telephone,"  said  one  of  the  crowd, 
while  another  called  on  a  man  on  a  bicycle  to 
"  catch  that  car  "  and  explained  that  there  was  a 
thief  on  it.  When  they  explained  also  the  na 
ture  of  the  thief  and  of  his  company,  the  bicyclist 
guessed  he  was  tired  and  that  they  might  catch 
the  car  themselves.  "  If  any  of  you  gentlemen 
wants  the  loan  of  my  wheel,  he  can  have  it,"  he 
said  generously ;  "  but  for  me — to-day's  Friday ; 
it's  always  bad  luck  for  me  to  catch  stolen  trol 
leys  on  Friday !  "  None  of  the  gentlemen 
wanted  the  loan  of  his  wheel. 

None  of  them  wanted  even  to  risk  a  pistol-shot 
by  riding  forward  and  attempting  to  keep  Burke 
within  hailing  distance.  The  car  was  speeding 
along  a  stretch  of  deserted  road  with  the  first 
house  by  the  wayside  a  half-mile  off.  Every  one 
preferred  to  assure  every  one  else  that  Burke 
must  leave  the  trolley  soon,  for  he  would  overtake 
the  car  ahead  of  him;  though  what  difference  it 
2  7 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

made,  when  once  he  was  out  of  sight,  whether  he 
left  the  trolley  soon  or  not,  nobody  could  suggest. 

He  did  leave  the  trolley  soon.  In  front  of  the 
one  house  visible  stood  a  horse  and  buggy,  which 
he  halted  the  car  to  borrow,  saying  that  he  needed 
them  in  his  business.  A  minute  afterward  he 
had  disappeared. 

In  the  meantime  James  Dison  discovered  that 
he  had  lost  his  watch. 


II. 


It  was  distinctly  understood  in  the  Front  Of 
fice  that  the  "  force  "  is  the  servant  of  the  pub 
lic  and  that  every  member  of  the  public,  whether 
a  big  man  or  a  little  one,  was  entitled  to  receive 
the  best  attention  the  force  could  give.  It  was 
distinctly  understood  also  that  this  theory  was 
in  the  nature  of  a  party  platform  or  declaration  of 
principles,  and  was  well  enough  in  its  place,  but 
that  its  place  was  not  in  practice.  In  practice 
there  are  differences  to  be  observed.  The  chief 
had  found  it  necessary  to  become  well-to-do  on 
his  savings  from  a  small  salary,  and  he  had 
achieved  this  seeming  miracle  by  exercising  the 
virtues  of  judicious  discrimination  and  friendship. 
He  had  never  soiled  his  hands  with  bribes — he 
had  "  never  done  nothing  not  morally  right — 
savvy?  " — but  it  was  undeniable  that  he  had  dis 
cretionary  powers,  and  undeniable  that  he  used 
them.  As  nobody  will  suppose  that  he  used 
them  to  comfort  his  enemies  and  to  discomfit  his 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

friends,  it  must  be  found  natural  that  he  received 
a  just  return  for  benefits  bestowed. 

When  James  Dison  of  the  naughty  city  discov 
ered  that  he  had  lost  his  watch,  the  first  step  he 
took  in  regard  to  it  was  admirable.  The  first 
step,  to  be  Irish,  was  to  stand  still  and  meditate 
on  what  his  metaphysical  double  should  say  to 
Mrs.  Dison  of  the  other  city ;  in  particular  if  the 
affair  should  reach  the  newspapers  and  the  om 
niscient  reporter  should  employ  his  inalienable 
right  of  pertinent  scandal.  He  could  see  the 
head-lines  as  he  stood  there :  "  Prominent  Citi 
zen  on  a  Bat ;  Decorous  Dison's  Double  Life ;  Re 
vealed  by  Robbery  at  End  of  Spree ;  Bold  Thief 
at  Large  in  Jersey !  "  He  could  likewise  see  the 
altered  countenances  of  the  friends  and  fellow 
citizens  who  had  glorified  his  double  in  present 
ing  to  him  the  watch  and  money  so  scandalously 
parted  with.  He  had  an  exquisitely  tender  sen 
sibility  for  what  concerned  his  double ;  he  felt  for 
him  as  for  himself.  He  escaped  with  all  possible 
haste  from  the  witnesses  of  his  mischance  and  de 
clined  to  give  his  name. 

Dison's  second  step  was  to  seek  out  the  Front 
Office  and  obtain  a  private  interview  with  the 
chief;  and  here  for  a  moment  he  made  a  blunder. 

10 


In  the  Matter  of  His  Nibs 

He  had  the  temerity  to  demand  a  favor  before  he 
had  founded  its  indispensable  basis  in  friendship. 
The  chief  paused  in  the  midst  of  his  scrutiny  of  a 
pile  of  documents;  official  business  was  sus 
pended  everywhere  within  ear-shot,  and  Mr. 
Dison  listened  to  the  voice  of  authority.  The 
chief  was  a  man  of  wrath;  his  speech  was  rude 
and  his  figures  of  rhetoric  unconventional.  "  No. 
I  will  not;  you  will  take  your  chances  like  any 
body  else ;  I  will  keep  nothing  quiet.  Every 
dashed  up-state  son  of  a  hayrick  thinks  he  can 
come  down  here  and  play  the  goat  and  go  back 
home  an'  forgit  it.  If  my  town's  tough  it's  you 
hoosiers  that  come  down  here  an'  turn  yourselves 
loose  an'  make  it  so ;  and  it's  me  the  newspapers 
roast." 

At  this  point  James  Dison  of  the  naughty  city 
was  inspired  to  remember  that  James  Dison  of 
the  good  little  city  owned  a  block  of  delegates  at 
the  state  capital  and  was  high  in  the  good  graces 
of  a  Great  Personage.  He  recited  his  titles  to 
respect  and  mentioned  the  Great  Personage. 

"  I  don't  care  who  you  are,  or  who  you  know," 
thundered  the  Olympian  in  a  passion  of  rectitude 
that  made  him  superior  to  grammar ;  "  I  don't 
owe  you  money  nor  anybody  else;  you  can  go 

ii 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

tell  him  so.  I'm  not  put  here  to  do  favors ;  I'm 
put  here  to  execute  the  law,  and  you  bet  your 
life  I'll  do  it!" 

This  was  diplomacy.  There  are  forms  of 
speech  in  the  Great  Republic  which  it  needs  a 
long  initiation  to  interpret ;  and  James  Dison  was 
initiated.  The  chief  had  the  most  exalted  friend 
ship  for  the  Great  Personage  Mr.  Dison  had 
named.  It  was  the  custom  of  that  Great  Per 
sonage  from  time  to  time,  when  he  suffered  with 
the  spleen,  to  speak  his  mind  to  the  chief  with  an 
unreserve  which  made  the  chief's  eyes  water — 
with  affection !  When  Mr.  Dison  had  withdrawn 
from  the  Front  Office,  the  chief  made  the  tele 
phone  wires  hum  with  hurry-up  calls  to 
trusted  lieutenants  with  names  suggesting  that 
gifted  race  whose  people  can  govern  everybody 
except  themselves.  When  Mr.  Dison  returned 
with  his  credentials,  his  reception  reminded  him 
that  Mr.  Dison  of  the  other  place  was  not  the 
only  man  in  the  naughty  city  who  is  blessed  with 
a  metaphysical  double. 

"  Have  already  moved  in  that  matter  of  yours, 
Mr.  Dison;  an  accident  that  might  happen  to 
any  gentleman." 

"  Even  to  an  up-state  son  of  a  hayrick !  "  said 
the  facetious  Dison. 

12 


In  the  Matter  of  His  Nibs 

"  I  will  have  your  property  delivered  to  you  at 
nine  in  the  morning  at  your  hotel,"  said  the  chief; 
"  and  in  the  meantime  if  there  are  any  little  cor 
ners  of  the  city  that  you  would  like  to  look  into, 
I  shall  be  glad  to  place  a  competent  guide  at 
your  disposal." 

"  I  might  find  some  things  that  would  be  of 
service  to  me  in  directing  our  home  interests;  I 
am  actively  employed  in  local  affairs,"  said  Mr. 
Dison. 

"  Happy  to  be  able  to  do  anything  for  you  I 
can,"  said  the  chief,  offering  the  glad  hand. 

"  A  pleasure  to  have  made  your  acquaintance," 
said  Mr.  Dison,  accepting  the  glad  hand. 

This  also  was  diplomacy;  the  rest  was  bus 
iness.  The  chief's  face  and  bearing  when  he  met 
his  lieutenants  were  a  hurry-up  order  personified. 
He  named  a  dozen  powers  and  potentates  by  their 
noms  de  guerre  and  indicated  their  customary 
places  of  resort.  His  instructions  were  figura 
tive  :  "  Rake  this  town  with  a  fine-tooth  comb ; 
I  want  'em  here  by  one  o'clock.  If  they  don't 
understand  kindness,  pinch  'em." 

There  is  a  wireless  telegraphy  in  the  Under 
World  which  is  quite  as  effective  as  Marconi's, 
and  it  was  soon  noised  about  among  the  guns 

13 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

that  there  was  to  be  a  round-up  at  the  Front  Of 
fice.  A  number  of  gentlemen  who  felt  a  deli 
cacy  about  intruding  upon  the  chief,  even  in  the 
way  of  friendship,  incontinently  made  themselves 
invisible;  but  the  majority  of  those  that  he  had 
mentioned  were  "  copped  out."  The  detectives 
were  as  much  in  the  dark  as  to  what  was  up  as 
were  the  guns,  and  the  latter  consoled  themselves 
with  facetious  remarks  as  to  the  object  of  the  ap 
proaching  interview.  "  The  chief  wants  t'  ask 
us  to  break  a  bottle  o'  sham  or  to  notify  us  that 
he  has  shifted  the  dead-line  further  down  town 
so's  to  give  the  likes  o'  us  a  chanst  t'  turn  an 
honest  penny,"  said  Billy  the  Bruiser;  and  Me- 
Klowd  remarked :  "  PYaps  he  is  goin'  to  let  us 
rubber  over  the  recovered  '  stolen  goods  '  mu 
seum  to  see  if  we  recognize  any  little  trinkets  o' 
our  own." 

The  interview  took  place  in  the  chief's  private 
office. 

"  Curly,"  he  asked  in  confidential  tones,  ad 
dressing  the  man  from  'Frisco,  "  what  do  you 
know  'bout  that  touch  that  was  pulled  off  over  in 
Jersey  this  morning  on  the  trolley?  Somebody 
got  a  thimble  [watch]  and  a  roll  o'  dough." 

"  First  I've  heard  of  it,  Chief.  I  don't  know 
nothin'." 

14 


In  the  Matter  of  His  Nibs 

"  It's  up  to  you,  MeKlowd." 

"  I'm  dead  about  it  too,  Chief.  Just  got  out 
a-bed  a  little  while  before  Curry  found  me." 

"  How  about  you,  Billy?  " 

"  Dead  too.  Keeps  me  busy  keepin'  track  o' 
touches  this  side  the  river." 

"  Well,  a  touch  came  off,  an'  I  want  the  thing 
cleared  up.  I'll  give  it  to  you  fellows  straight — 
the  touch  never  should  'a'  come  off,  an'  it's  up  to 
me  to  get  the  gun  an'  the  things.  I've  got  you 
up  here  to  read  the  riot  act  to  you,  an'  you'd  bet 
ter  read  it  to  the  rest  o'  the  gang.  I've  been  easy 
on  some  o'  you  blokes  'cause  I  know  't  you've 
got  families  here  an'  want  to  stay  with  'em,  but 
I'll  tell  you  on  the  level  that  if  you  don't  cough 
up  that  gun  I'll  put  a  dead-line  around  this  whole 
town.  Now,  you  can  take  your  choice.  That's 
all  I've  got  to  say  to  you,  but  I  want  you,  Me 
Klowd,  to  wait  a  little." 

The  consultation  with  MeKlowd  was  short  but 
significant. 

"  Ruderick,  I  might  as  well  give  you  the  truth 
as  a  steer.  The  sucker  that  was  touched  is  a 
friend  o'  his  Nibs — you  know  who  I  mean — an' 
his  Nibs  is  hostile.  It's  the  second  time  't  he's 
had  a  grouch  on,  an'  I've  got  to  put  up  a  good 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

front.  If  the  thing  don't  go  right,  I'll  be  in  a 
hell  of  a  hole,  an'  I  want  to  know  if  you'll  pull 
it  through.  I  can't  get  that  gun  inside  of  a 
month  if  you  blokes  don't  help  me,  an'  I've  kept 
the  sucker  here  in  town  on  the  plea  that  it'll  all 
be  over  in  a  day  or  so.  Will  you  get  the  push 
to  cough  up?  " 

"  Any  thin'  doin'  afterward?  " 

"  I  can't  make  no  deal  with  you,  Ruderick — 
you  know  that  well  enough.  I  been  pretty 
square  with  you  an'  the  push,  ain't  I?  Well,  it 
stands  to  reason  't  I  ain't  goin'  to  get  a  grouch 
on  if  you  an'  the  push  do  me  a  favor,  don't  it?  " 

"  A'  right.  Forty-eight  hours  you  said,  didn't 
you?  If  it's  only  twenty-four  you  won't  object, 
I  suppose?  " 

"  It'll  make  my  rep  all  the  better  if  it's  only 
twelve." 

"  A'  right.     So-long." 

"  So-long,  Ruderick." 


16 


III. 


Ruderick  MeKlowd  was  a  product  of  the  city 
of  tall  buildings  and  tall  talk— the  "  Western 
Metrolopis  "  he  sometimes  called  it,  and  some 
times  "  Chi."  His  passion  for  the  town  was  only 
less  pronounced  than  his  passion  for  his  profes 
sion,  and  he  had  arrived  at  that  stage  in  his  de 
velopment  when  the  name  of  his  birthplace  had 
been  incorporated  in  his  personal  appellation,  aft 
er  the  manner  of  powers  and  potentates  and  no 
bility  in  general:  he  was  known  to  the  initiated 
as  the  "  Slick  Chi  Gun." 

His  business  engagements  were  so  far-reach 
ing  that  it  was  only  infrequently  that  he  was  to 
be  met  in  the  city  of  his  name,  and  there  were 
periods  when,  on  account  of  another  commu 
nity's  interest  in  him  and  demand  upon  his  time, 
he  was  compelled  to  deny  the  town  the  honor  of 
his  presence  for  years  at  a  stretch ;  but  he  always 
spoke  affectionately  of  the  place,  and  it  was  a 
well-understood  ambition  of  his  to  be  buried  "  on 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

de  Lake  Front."  In  appearance  he  would  not 
necessarily  have  been  picked  out  for  an  inhabit 
ant  of  Chicago.  He  had,  to  be  sure,  the  Chi 
cago  business  man's  plunging  walk;  he  was  al 
ways  in  a  hurry ;  his  ability  to  interest  other  peo 
ple  and  other  people's  money  in  his  enterprises 
may  possibly  also  be  characterized  as  a  Chicago 
trait;  but  in  other  respects  he  fitted  into  the  life 
of  New  York  or  any  other  great  city  with  as  few 
rough  edges  to  be  polished  off  as  probably  any 
man  of  his  temperament  and  training.  An  in 
nocent  little  histrionic  gift  that  he  possessed — and 
exercised — commonly  enabled  him  to  pass  with 
a  casual  acquaintance  for  almost  anything,  from 
a  successful  lawyer  to  a  sea-captain.  But  there 
were  those  in  whose  presence  he  frankly  admit 
ted  that  he  was  "  Ruderick  MeKlowd  and  what 
are  you  going  to  do  about  it?  " 

He  was  some  five  and  forty  years  old,  tall,  well- 
built,  clean-shaven,  with  a  look  in  his  face  which 
was  described  by  knowing  ones  as  the  obvious 
"  mug  of  a  crook/'  By  those  who  did  not  know, 
it  might  easily  have  seemed  the  intense  look  of 
a  preoccupied  and  rather  hard  man  of  affairs. 
When  on  the  loaf,  he  sauntered  through  the 
streets  unobtrusively,  sometimes  greeting  his 

18 


In  the  Matter  of  His  Nibs 

friends  and  sometimes  not,  taking  in  the  sights. 
Certain  wiseacres  claimed  that  he  was  "  rubber 
ing,"  and  attention  was  sometimes  called  to  "  that 
greedy  look  of  his  eyes  " ;  but  this  could  not  have 
been  proved  in  a  court  of  law.  If  he  passed  a 
friend  whom  he  found  it  convenient  not  to  recog 
nize  after  the  ordinary  forms  of  greeting,  he  gave 
a  peculiar  guttural  cough,  sometimes  called  the 
thief's  cough,  or  made  a  noise  with  his  lips  such  as 
goes  with  a  kiss,  and  it  was  frequently  his  misfor 
tune  to  have  these  signs  misinterpreted  by  deni 
zens  of  the  Front  Office;  but  he  had  very  con 
vincing  explanatory  powers,  and  seldom  found  it 
difficult  to  square  misunderstandings  to  the  satis- 
isfaction  of  all  concerned.  On  occasions,  par 
ticularly  if  he  had  been  "  hitting  it  up,"  he  made 
no  attempt  to  explain  or  to  excuse,  but  suggested 
that  the  Front  Office  "  come  out  an'  get  its  face 
put  in." 

MeKlowd  was  almost  as  popular  at  the  Front 
Office  as  he  was  in  his  push.  From  the  strict 
moralist's  point  of  view  his  record  there  was 
bad;  but  there  were  some  things  esoterically  to 
his  credit,  which  the  moralist  does  not  under 
stand.  The  chief  himself  had  more  than  once 
declared  that  "  if  Ruderick  had  only  had  an  '  ed- 

19 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

dication '  he  would  have  ranked  among  the  salu 
brious  men  of  history."  It  was  the  opinion  of 
Ruderick's  intimates  that  he  had  made  a  mark 
enviably  high  without  taking  his  doctor's  de 
gree;  but,  of  course,  they  judged  him  by  a  stand 
ard  of  their  own.  The  chief's  liking  for  Ruder- 
ick  was  appreciated  and  respected.  In  the  days 
when  the  chief  had  been  struggling  for  honor  and 
promotion  in  "  the  street,"  it  fell  to  his  lot  to  ar 
rest  certain  "  gentlemen  of  fortune  "  who  pro 
tested  vi  et  armis,  which  is  hieroglyphic  for  "with 
knife  and  fist."  The  chief  might  never  have  come 
out  of  the  scrimmage  alive  if  Ruderick  hadn't 
"  happened  around  "  about  that  time.  The 
chief,  to  his  credit  be  it  said,  never  forgot  this 
coincidence. 

It  has  been  said  on  good  authority  that,  if  the 
thieves  of  a  town  could  be  persuaded  to  become 
its  policemen,  and  to  act  "  on  the  level,"  the  ap 
propriations  for  municipal  defense  migHt  be  very 
greatly  reduced.  Certain  it  is  that  they  have  a 
sense  of  the  thing  necessary  to  be  done — a  theft 
having  been  committed — which  our  municipal 
and  private  detective  organizations  have  failed  to 
improve  upon. 

"  How  much  time  we  got,  Ruderick?  "  asked 
Billy  the  Bruiser. 

20 


In  the  Matter  of  His  Nibs 

"  Twenty-four  hours." 

"  He  jus'  wants  the  thimble  an'  the  roll,  ain't 
that  it?" 

"  No,  he  wants  the  gun  too.  His  Nibs  is 
hostile,  you  see,  an'  this  yap  from  the  country 
's  got  pull,  an'  it's  up  to  the  chief  to  make  a 
splurge." 

"Will  he  let  the  bloke  go?" 

"  Didn't  say  nothin'  'bout  that.  P'r'aps  he 
will  after  he's  let  the  yap  rubber  at  him.  I  don't 
give  a  damn  whether  he  does  or  not.  It  was  a 
bunglin'  job,  an'  the  bloke  deserves  a  stretcher. 
Besides,  see  all  the  trouble  he's  givin'  us.  He'll 
queer  the  whole  of  us  if  we  don't  get  him." 

"  That's  right,"  commented  Billy.  "  No  one 
bloke  's  got  any  business  queerin'  the  push ;  if  he 
has  got  to  take  a  stretcher  then  he  has,  an'  that's 
all  there  is  about  it.  Same  thing  happened  out 
in  Chi  once.  Old  'Frisco  Slim  touched  up  one 
o'  the  big  joolry  places  not  knowin'  that  it  was 
in  the  Eye's  dead-line.  We  had  to  cough  him 
up — it  'ud  been  a  case  o'  drill  if  we  hadn't.  Well, 
I  tell  you,  Ruderick,  I'll  screw  my  nut  down  town 
an'  rubber  around,  lettin'  the  blokes  know  what's 
doin'.  You'll  put  the  people  up  here  next,  will 
you?  A'  right.  Where'll  we  report?  " 

21 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

"  Up  in  my  rooms." 

The  two  men  separated  and  began  "  putting 
the  blokes  next."  Ruderick  dropped  into  saloon 
after  saloon,  talking  quietly  with  men  sitting  at 
tables  or  standing  at  the  bar,  and  pretty  soon 
these  men  were  to  be  seen  coming  out  on  to  the 
street  and  taking  different  directions.  He  talked 
to  them  in  a  language  unique  for  its  abbrevia 
tions  and  directness.  There  were  no  long  ex 
planations.  The  simple  statement,  backed  up 
by  Ruderick's  presence,  that  "  the  Front  Office 
wanted  to  know  who  made  that  touch  in  Jer 
sey,  and  wanted  the  swag  and  the  gun,"  sufficed 
to  set  going  an  unequaled  detective  agency. 

There  were  no  silly  trips  to  Jersey  to  inspect 
"  the  scene  of  the  crime,"  no  long  interviews  with 
reporters  about  suggested  clues,  and  no  "  keep 
ing  the  wires  hot."  "  Guns  "  of  all  ages  and 
conditions  strolled  quietly  up  and  down  Manhat 
tan,  "  rubbering,"  passing  the  time  o'  day  and 
putting  people  "  next."  One  would  enter  a 
"  joint,"  give  a  cough  and  pass  on  to  a  rear  room 
where  he  was  joined  by  those  whom  his  cough 
had  attracted.  "  Find  out  who  got  that  thim 
ble  an'  the  roll  on  the  trolley  over  in  Jersey — 
the  chief  is  hostile  an'  wants  to  know — Ruderick 

22 


In  the  Matter  of  His  Nibs 

MeKlowd  is  on  the  case,"  and  another  half  dozen 
recruits  were  enlisted  for  the  honor  of  the  chief. 
A  "  touch  "  is  to  the  Under  World  what  an 
Associated  Press  news  item,  or  "  the  flimsy,'*  is 
to  the  newspaper  world :  knowledge  of  it  is  com 
mon  property  to  those  who  are  in  the  guild. 
There  are  a  hundred  "  touches  "  and  more  every 
day  of  which  the  police  hear  nothing,  but  the 
Under  World  knows  all  about  them,  who  made 
them,  what  was  realized  on  them,  and  where 
the  "  get-away "  took  place.  Gossip  about 
"  touches  "  is  as  essential  to  the  Under  World  as 
is  gossip  about  marriages  and  births  to  the  Up 
per  World.  Burke  Ryan  could  no  more  forego 
the  pleasure  of  telling  his  pals  about  the  "  touch  " 
on  the  trolley  in  Jersey  than  he  could  resist  the 
temptation  to  "  pull  it  off."  He  had  "  hocked  " 
the  watch  and  invested  the  greater  part  of  the 
roll  in  a  quiet  little  game  of  poker  by  the  time 
Ruderick  MeKlowd  and  the  push  were  on  his 
trail,  and  he  had  also  published  widely  the  de 
tails  of  the  theft,  only  Ruderick  and  his  compan 
ions  had  not  yet  reached  the  "  joints  "  where  the 
story  had  been  told.  At  the  very  moment  that 
Ruderick  and  Billy  the  Bruiser  were  agreeing  on 
the  campaign  to  find  him,  Burke  was  in  a  saloon 

3  23 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

not  over  ten  blocks  distant  telling  some  cronies 
how  he  had  "  to  clear  the  deck  "  on  the  trolley 
with  his  razor  to  make  good  his  "  mooch,"  and 
giving  them  amusing  accounts  of  how  the  "  Molls 
dove  out  o'  the  windows  "  in  their  haste  to  give 
him  room. 

"  An'  the  sucker  't  I'd  touched,"  he  went  on, 
referring  to  the  naughty  Mr.  Dison,  "  he  jus'  sat 
down  an'  t'rew  a  fit.  Yelled  like  a  stuck  pig." 

Burke  had  his  friends  in  the  push  as  well  as  did 
Ruderick,  and  there  was  one,  "  Jimmy  "  Ryer- 
son  by  name,  who  felt  that  it  was  "  up  to  him  " 
to  let  Burke  know  that  Ruderick  and  his  push 
were  in  pursuit.  He  had  a  score  to  settle  with 
the  chief  which  had  been  troubling  him  for 
months  in  his  sense  of  honesty,  and  he  considered 
the  present  occasion  a  good  one  to  discharge  his 
debt.  Burke  had  told  him  of  the  "  touch  "  early 
in  the  day,  and  Ruderick's  enterprise  had  been 
made  known  to  him  not  long  after.  He  knew 
that  the  majority  in  the  push  were  with  Ruderick, 
but  the  opportunity  to  "  turn  down  "  the  chief 
was  too  good  to  be  lost,  and  Burke  was  advised  of 
his  peril. 

"  Do  they  jus'  want  the  dough  an'  the  watch," 
asked  Burke,  "  or  are  they  after  me  too?  " 

24 


In  the  Matter  of  His  Nibs 

"  They're  after  you,  you  duffer,"  said  Jimmy, 
"  an'  they'll  have  you  if  you  don't  mooch.  You've 
been  chewin'  the  rag  all  over  town,  an'  some 
body's  told  'em  by  this  time." 

"  Do  you  mean  to  say  that  they're  goin'  to 
turn  me  over  to  the  chief?  " 

"  That's  what  they  are,  an'  you'll  be  settled, 
too.  His  Nibs  is  on  his  ear,  they  say,  an'  the 
chief's  got  to  square  things." 

"  Well  they  can  go  plump  to  hell.  I  ain't 
no  sucker  to  help  out  that  chief — let  him  help  his- 
self  out.  I'm  goin'  to  mooch  right" — his 
speech  was  cut  short  by  the  entrance  into  the 
saloon  of  Ruderick  and  two  "  pals." 

It  was  a  chase  which  is  talked  about  still  when 
chases  come  up  for  discussion.  It  began  below 
Twenty-third  street  and  ended  in  a  vacant  lot 
near  the  Eighth  Avenue  Elevated  Railroad  Ter 
minal,  and  is  probably  the  only  pursuit  of  a  crim 
inal  in  whose  arrest  criminals  alone  were  inter 
ested.  Trolley-cars,  cabs  and  the  "  elevated  " 
were  all  used  by  both  the  pursued  and  the  pur 
suers,  and  a  fierce  struggle  ended  the  flight.  As 
a  last  resort  Burke  took  his  stand  in  a  fence  cor 
ner  of  the  vacant  lot,  drew  his  razor,  and  dared 

25 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

Ruderick  and  his  two  companions  to  touch  him. 
"  It's  a  case  o'  knock-out,"  said  Ruderick,  and 
poor  Burke  was  made  the  target  for  stones  swiftly 
thrown  and  carefully  aimed.  He  stood  it  as 
long  as  he  could,  his  face  and  hands  being  cut 
and  bruised  and  smeared  all  over  with  blood,  and 
then  cried  out :  "  I  cave — I  cave !  " 

"  Couldn't  help  it,  Burke,  old  man,"  said  Rud 
erick  soothingly.  "  Three  to  one  ain't  fair,  but 
it's  business.  The  chief  needs  you,  an'  we  need 
the  chief — see?  " 


A  BILL  FROM  TIFFANY'S. 
I. 

The  beginning  of  things  was  a  woman,  and  the 
middle  was  another  woman,  and  the  end  was  mis 
cellaneous  naughtiness,  casualties  and  matri 
mony.  Metaphysically  speaking,  there  are  causes 
other  than  women  at  work  in  determining  human 
affairs,  but  it  has  never  been  found  at  once  indis 
pensable  and  impossible  to  take  them  into  ac 
count. 

Miss  Sadie  Meeker  was  a  young  woman  who 
was  interested  in  the  market  value  of  things ;  par 
ticularly  in  the  market  value  of  herself.  As  a 
money-changer  at  the  desk  in  Major  &  Fairbank's 
her  market  value  was  just  four  dollars  a  week; 
but  a  woman's  real  market  value,  as  Sadie  well 
knew,  is  never  what  she  can  honestly  earn,  but 
what  the  best  man  who  wishes  to  marry  her  can 
earn,  whether  honestly  or  not.  Later  she  came 
to  think  seven  times  out  of  ten  of  her  husband  and 
the  remaining  three  of  her  children;  but  for  the 
27 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

moment  she  was  conscious  mainly  that  Margie 
Payne  had  married  a  saloon-keeper,  and  Kittie 
Barwin  a  part-owner  in  a  dance-hall ;  and  saloon 
keepers  and  part-owners  in  dance-halls  are  lords 
and  landed  gentry  in  the  Under  World. 

Margie  and  Kittie  had  been  Sadie's  next 
friends,  and  for  some  time  after  their  marriage 
she  too  would  have  been  contented  to  wed  a  sa 
loon-keeper  or  a  part-owner  in  a  dance-hall ;  but 
Margie,  when  all  was  said,  did  wear  her  clothes, 
no  matter  how  expensive,  as  if  they  were  on  the 
point  of  sliding  off,  and  Kittie,  in  spite  of  her 
pretty  hair,  had  bad  teeth.  That  is  to  say,  in  the 
Under  World  a  chief  of  detectives  is  a  prince  and 
potentate;  and  if  Charley  Minick  was  not  yet  a 
chief  of  detectives  he  well  might  become  one,  at 
least  with  a  woman  whose  clothes  cost  money  to 
spur  him  on.  Sadie's  teeth  were  perfect,  and 
she  filled  out  her  gown  like  a  dressmaker's  model ; 
her  hair,  besides,  was  quite  as  good  as  Kittie's,  and 
her  complexion  was  wonderful.  After  some 
hesitation  she  concluded,  therefore,  with  a  de 
lightful  sense  at  once  of  playing  for  high  stakes 
and  of  generosity,  to  become  engaged  to  marry 
Charley  Minick.  Also  his  mustache  curled 
beautifully. 

28 


A  Bill  from  Tiffany's 

Charley  Minick  in  his  twenty-eighth  year  had 
achieved  a  knowledge  how  the  world  is  made. 
This  perception  is  strictly  a  matter  of  male  in 
telligence  ;  women  know  nothing  whatever  about 
it,  their  concern  lying  wholly  with  fictions.  He 
had  joined  the  "  force  "  with  a  resolution  to  be  an 
"  honest  copper  " ;  and  his  high  aspirations  still 
clung  to  him,  though  they  had  become  modified. 
He  would  not  be  so  honest  as  to  be  unpleasant; 
he  would  be  just  a  little — oh !  the  veriest  trifle — 
better  than  his  neighbors.  This  course  permit 
ted  him  to  attain  the  delights  both  of  popularity 
and  of  pride,  and  may  be  said  to  be  sanctioned  by 
the  example  of  a  working  majority  of  the  truly 
great.  "  I  don't  set  up  for  no  saint,"  said  the 
magnanimous  Minick,  "  but  there  are  places 
where  I  draws  the  line."  A  Pitt  or  a  Lincoln 
could  have  said  no  more. 

He  was  capable  on  occasion  of  a  certain 
doggedness  and  intensity  of  reflection ;  and  at  the 
time  of  his  engagement  Sadie  had  provided  an 
occasion.  Margie's  gifts  from  her  lover  had  been 
diamonds  of  price;  Kittie's  gifts  from  her  lover 
had  been  diamonds  of  even  greater  price;  and 
Sadie  was  perfectly  aware  of  every  woman's  in 
alienable  right  to  possess  better  jewels  than  any 

29 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

woman  of  her  acquaintance,  if  she  can  induce  a 
man  to  give  them  to  her.  She  explained 
her  views  to  Minick  with  vigor  and  point; 
she  revealed  to  him  the  double  jurisdiction 
under  which  he  had  agreed  to  live;  he  must 
.stand  his  trial  in  the  judgment  of  her  peers. 
Therefore  Minick  referred  to  her  hilariously  as 
her  Grace  the  Duchess  of  Major  &  Fairbank's, 
and  looked  upon  her  with  increased  happiness 
and  admiration.  A  man  always  looks  upon  a 
woman  with  increased  happiness  and  admiration 
when  she  asks  the  impossible  and  makes  him  do 
it. 

"  Well,  you  wouldn't  have  me  be  ashamed  be 
fore  Kit  and  Marge,  would  you?  " 

"The  Pearl  of  Pie  Alley  couldn't  stand 
ashamed  before  Kit  and  Marge;  she  hasn't  got 
the  shape !  But  I  forgot ;  it's  a  man  that's  proud 
of  a  woman's  shape ;  the  woman's  only  proud  of 
what  she's  got  on  it !  " 

"  Even  now  they  say  I'm  a  fool  to  tie  up  with 
you.  They  say  there's  no  scale  in  your  job  the 
way  there  is  in  Jim's  and  Bob's ;  they  call  you  a 
hundred-a-month  man ;  they  say  you  don't  take  in 
nothing  on  the  side.  Kit  and  Marge  said  last 
night  I  was  marrying  you  for  your  '  mtf&rtache.  ' 

30 


A  Bill  from  Tiffany's 

"  Kit  and  Marge !  "  said  the  alert  detective  with 
theatric  scorn ;  "  Kit  and  Marge  are  a  couple  of 
clapper-tongued  pot-wrestlers;  you'll  make  your 
ears  long  as  a  government  mule's  a-listenin'  to 
'em.  Jim  married  Kit  for  her  '  musstache,'  you 
know  he  did;  an'  what  she  says  o'  mine  is  pure 
envy!" 

"  Yes,  I  suppose.  But  I  ain't  talking  of 
1  musstaches  ' ;  I'm  serious;  it  means  a  lot  to  me. 
You've  got  to  get  me  what  I  want;  that's  what 
you  marry  me  for!  and  you've  got  to  go  to  the 
right  place  to  get  it — I  tell  you  those ;  I  want  to 
show  Kit  and  Marge  the  box." 

"  All  right,"  laughed  Minick,  "  I'll  get  you  the 
box!" 

Three  days  after  this  conversation  there  was  a 
great  social  "  event "  at  the  town  house  of  Ed 
ward  Sandys  of  Sandys  &  Merton,  who  served 
God  and  mankind  to  the  amount  of  some  mil 
lions  per  annum.  They  performed  their  service 
largely  by  accepting  a  controlling  interest  in  un 
dertakings  to  which  the  name  of  Sandys  &  Mer 
ton  lent  a  commercial  value.  The  great  social 
"event,"  with  its  great  display  of  plate  and  jewels, 
was  followed  by  a  great  cracksman's  "  events." 
Before  the  awakening  of  the  Sandys  household 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

after  the  festival  a  judiciously  selected  portion  of 
the  jewels  had  disappeared.  The  reward  offered 
was  so  large  that  the  Front  Office  was  touched 
in  its  tenderest  sensibilities;  there  seemed  some 
thing  almost  wicked  in  declining  to  supply  a  man, 
anxious  to  part  with  a  sum  like  that,  with  a 
chance  to  hand  it  over. 

The  instructions  of  the  chief  were  a  model  of 
manly  eloquence :  "  Somebody's  got  to  get  that 
dough;  Sandys  '11  t'row  a  fit  if  he  can't  cough 
up,  and  you  coppers  got  to  help  him.  I  ain't 
goin'  to  have  the  Eye  people  snake  in  all  the 
loose  coin;  I  give  it  to  you  straight.  They 
more'n  did  us  on  that  Hogan  deal ;  an'  the  papers 
roasted  me.  They  called  me  a  '  jaundiced 
tutelary  dodo  ' ;  /  don't  know  what  the  blamed 
thing  means,  but  I  won't  stand  for  it.  I  can't 
get  at  the  feller  that  wrote  it,  but  I  can  make  your 
skins  too  hot  to  hold  you  if  he  gets  a  chanst  to 
do  it  again.  A  town  as  big  as  this  can  find  its 
own  guns  without  callin'  in  private  fly  cops.  You 
fellows  spread  yourselves  on  this  case,  you  take 
my  tip.  Get  your  mouthpieces  on  the  run,  bribe 
'em,  pinch  'em,  do  what  you  damn  please,  but 
get  that  dough.  An'  get  the  gun  too.  Some 
o'  the  country  papers  have  been  shoutin'  'bout 

32 


A  Bill  from  Tiffany's 

this  force  bein'  crooked ;  they  say  that  we're  only 
out  for  the  dough  in  jobs  like  this,  an'  let  the  gun 
make  a  get-away.  I'm  sick  o'  this  hollerin',  and 
if  it  don't  quit  I'll  make  every  man  jack  of  you 
sick  of  it  too !  " 

That  afternoon  an  ornate  reporters'-column  in 
one  of  the  public  prints  consisted  of  an  interview 
with  the  "  subtle  and  competent  Detective  Min- 
ick  " ;  it  referred  to  him  alternately  as  another 
Sherlock  Holmes  and  as  a  second  Old  Sleuth. 
Sadie  did  not  know  who  Sherlock  Holmes  and 
Old  Sleuth  were;  when  Kittie  asked  her,  she 
said  they  were  former  chiefs  of  police;  and  there 
were  a  number  of  words  in  the  article  she  could 
not  understand;  but  the  general  drift  of  it  she 
perceived  was  commendatory,  and  she  felt  an  im 
mediate  access  of  affection  for  Charley — and  was 
sorry  she  had  not  asked  for  a  bigger  diamond. 
Charley  was  alleged  to  be  "  working "  on  the 
Sandys  case.  His  work  for  the  moment  con 
sisted  in  examining  the  scene  of  the  robbery,  in 
making  notes  of  seventeen  particulars  which  he 
perfectly  believed  to  be  insignificant,  and  in  ar 
resting  three  servants  whom  he  perfectly  believed 
not  guilty.  Out  of  the  seventeen  insignificant 

33 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

particulars  he  formulated  a  "  theory  "  of  the  case 
so  ingenious  that  no  man  in  his  senses  would  act 
upon  it.  Happily  he  did  not  make  it  to  act 
upon;  he  made  it  to  give  to  the  newspapers. 
These  things  he  did  in  order  that  Mr.  Sandys  and 
the  public  might  recognize  that  he  was  "  taking 
an  interest."  When  he  had  secured  this  point, 
he  was  perfectly  at  a  loss  what  to  do  next  except, 
as  he  phrased  it,  "  to  rubber  around,"  which  is 
technical  and  esoteric  for  keeping  his  eyes  and 
ears  open.  Every  one  else  who  was  "  working  " 
on  the  case  was  equally  at  a  loss ;  every  one  was 
just  rubbering  around. 

One  morning  while  matters  were  at  this  pass 
the  chief  handed  Minick  a  telegram  which  was 
dated  Akron,  Ohio.  It  signified  that  one  Bud 
Denmer,  age  thirty-six,  height  five  feet  eleven 
and  a  quarter,  complexion  dark,  eyes  blue  hazel, 
hair  prematurely  gray  and  black,  beard  solid 
black,  teeth  good,  nose  large  and  pugnacious, 
weight  a  hundred  and  sixty-five  pounds,  was 
"  wanted,"  and  was  supposed  to  be  in  New  York. 
The  reward  was  five  hundred  dollars  and  the  par 
ticulars  would  follow  by  letter. 


34 


II. 


Women,  in  the  Great  Republic  at  least,  are  su 
perior  to  men  in  everything,  except  the  ability  to 
remain  in  large  cities  during  the  hot  season.  This 
is  the  almost  universal  testimony  of  those  who 
have  given  the  question  the  greatest  amount  of  at 
tention,  and,  when  specialists  agree,  it  ill  becomes 
the  uninformed  to  profess  an  opinion.  The 
point  is  that  Mrs.  Richard  Cober  was  an  excep 
tion  to  the  general  rule;  she  found  it  impossible 
to  master  the  elements  of  applied  mathematics. 
Even  in  the  matter  of  the  currency  she  could 
never  be  got  to  understand  that  one  dollar  is  no 
better  than  another  dollar,  when  the  first  dollar 
was  her  own  and  the  second  was  some  one  else's ; 
and  when  the  calculation  came  to  concern  hus 
bands  and  children  her  incapacity  reached  its  ex- 
treme. 

Richard  Cober  was  fast  becoming  the  head  of  a 
profession  of  which  he  was  proud,  but  which  he 
disliked  to  hear  called  by  its  right  name.  He 
was  only  from  time  to  time  actively  engaged  in 

35 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

it,  and  it  took  him  for  the  most  part  out  of  town 
into  the  beyond.  He  was  understood  by  his  chil 
dren,  and  nominally  by  his  wife,  to  be  a  "  travel 
ing  "  man.  His  absences  would  last  for  a  few 
days  or  a  few  weeks,  and  out  of  the  beyond  he 
would  commonly  bring  back  a  great  deal  of 
money  or  a  very  bad  temper.  Once  his  absence 
lasted  nearly  three  years,  and  he  brought  back 
only  a  new  suit  of  clothes,  a  pallid  face  and  a 
most  unpleasant  trick  of  the  eyes.  Little  Bes 
sie  said  that  he  looked  like  a  "  bogy-man,"  and 
little  Bobbie  said  he  "  'ooked  'ike  a  fief " ;  and 
both  cried  out  and  clapped  their  hands  and  ran 
in  great  glee  to  greet  him.  Mamma  afterward 
explained  to  them  that  he  had  had  an  accident  in 
the  beyond  and  had  been  for  a  long  while  con 
fined  to  the  house,  and  that  it  had  been  bad  for 
him  to  use  his  eyes.  Bessie  told  him  she  was 
"so  sorry — ever  so  sorry — really!" — for  his  ac 
cident;  and  Bobbie  assured  him  that  he  did  not 
look  in  the  least  "  'ike  a  fief,"  but  "  'ike  a  dear 
'dorable  papa." 

When  Richard  Cober  was  in  luck  he  was  lavish 
with  his  "  kids,"  and  at  all  times  liked  nothing 
better  than  to  have  them  tumbling  over  him ;  and 
whether  or  not  he  was  in  luck,  there  was  nothing 

36 


A  Bill  from  Tiffany's 

their  mamma  could  want  that  he  did  not  find  a 
way  to  provide.  Bobbie  may  have  erred  in  the 
letter  in  his  consolatory  assurance,  but  he  was 
right  in  his  main  intention.  It  may  be  doubted 
whether  Richard  "  looked  "  adorable ;  for  the 
most  part  he  looked  uncommonly  sharp  and 
hard ;  but  in  his  daintily  upholstered  flat  in  Clin 
ton  Place  he  was  at  least  adored.  He  sang  songs 
and  cut  a  double-shuffle  for  the  kids  and  played  at 
blind  man's  buff;  and  Mrs.  Cober  possessed 
jewels  that  would  have  made  Sadie  Meeker's 
frosty  eyes  burn  with  desire.  Of  an  evening  it 
was  his  habit  to  spend  some  hours  in  brilliantly 
lit  rooms  supplied  liberally  with  mirrors  and  with 
round  hardwood  tables,  at  which  men  with  dia 
mond  scarf-pins  and  boutonnieres  sat  or  lolled  In 
easy  chairs  and  called  for  drinks.  Because  his 
own  diamond  scarf-pin  and  boutonniere  were  not 
conspicuously  large  but  unmistakably  more 
"  choice,"  everybody  hailed  him  admiringly  as 
"  Buck,"  and  demanded  what  he  would  "  take." 

One  afternoon  while  Bessie  was  dandling  a  doll 
half  as  big  as  herself,  and  Richard  and  Bobbie 
were  doing  a  cake-walk  with  an  energy  and  free 
dom  of  grimace  and  gesture  that  made  her  scream 
with  laughter,  the  door  opened  and  a  gentleman, 

37 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

who  had  held  a  little  colloquy  with  the  maid  in  the 
hall,  entered  unannounced.  The  gentleman  was 
Detective  Minick. 

There  was  an  instant  in  which  if  Detective 
Minick  had  been  a  timid  man  he  would  have 
found  the  sight  of  Richard  bad  for  his  nerves. 
That  the  sight  of  Minick  was  bad  for  Richard's 
nerves  there  was  not  the  slightest  doubt.  But 
there  are  courtesies  in  the  Under  World;  even 
men  who  play  for  stakes  as  high  as  life,  liberty 
and  the  pursuit  of  happiness  permit  themselves 
the  luxury  of  treating  one  another  with  respect. 

"  Eighteen-carat  place  you  got  here,  Buck,  old 
sport ;  pie-anna,  French  clock,  Turkey  rugs,  nice 
kids ;  things  been  goin'  your  way." 

"  Don't  look  as  if  you'd  been  up  against  hard 
luck  yourself.  Skip,  kids.  Mr.  Minick  and  me 
will  be  wanting  to  bill  and  coo  in  private." 

These  were  amenities.  People  do  not  shake 
hands  in  the  Under  World  except  as  a  sign  of 
extreme  formality ;  neither  do  they  look  one  an 
other  steadily  in  the  face  except  in  anger;  they 
glance  at  one  another  from  time  to  time  and  con 
verse  at  an  angle  of  forty-five  degrees.  Also  a 
certain  gruffness  of  manner  and  voice  are  de 
rigueur.  It  was  Detective  Minick's  profession 

38 


A  Bill  from  Tiffany's 

to  bring  every  man's  trouble  home  to  him;  but 
he  had  the  reputation  of  executing  his  disagree 
able  task  with  as  little  offense  as  possible.  It 
was  an  incident  of  Richard  Cober's  profession 
that  he  did  not  like  to  have  people  call  on  him ;  it 
always  made  him  uncomfortable  until  they  stated 
their  business,  and  then  sometimes  it  made  him 
still  more  uncomfortable. 

"  Somethin'  doin'?  "  he  asked  with  laconic  ele 
gance. 

"  A  little  matter  o'  my  own.  I  want  you  to 
put  me  next." 

"  What  the  blazes  do  you  come  to  me  about 
*  next  'for?  I  ain't  next  to  nothin'  in  this  town 
except  you  dead  ones  at  the  Front  Office." 

"Read  the  papers  lately?" 

"  One  o'  you  fly  cops  croaked  an'  you  want  to 
touch  me  for  a  bouquet  for  the  stiff?  " 

"  Seen  the  details  o'  that  Sandys  job?  " 

"  Oh  it's  that,  is  it?  You  can  search  me. 
You'll  have  to  guess  again  if  you  want  to  pick  a 
winner.  I  ain't  mixed  up  in  that.  I  haven't 
done  any  work  in  this  town  for  five  years;  I  live 
here,  an'  you  know  well  enough  that  where  I  live 
there's  nothin'  doin'.  I've  got  too  much  at 
stake." 

4  39 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

"  Don't  suppose  I'd  be  sittin'  here  rubberin'  at 
your  wall-paper,  if  you  done  it,  do  you?  But  I 
want  you  to  get  mixed  up  in  it.  There's  five 
thousand  semoleons  reward,  an'  I  need  'em  in  my 
business." 

"  Who  told  you  't  I  was  interested  in  your  bus 
iness?  I  got  troubles  o'  my  own." 

These  also  were  amenities.  The  next  state 
ment  was  open  combat. 

"  It  won't  do,  Charley ;  I  give  it  to  you 
straight,  I  didn't  do  the  job  myself  an'  don't 
know  who  did ;  but  if  I  did  know  I  wouldn't  tell 
you.  I  ain't  got  nothing  against  you  personally ; 
you  always  treated  me  square,  an'  I'd  go  as  far  for 
you  as  another  man ;  but  I  never  yet  beefed  on  a 
pal  an'  I'm  not  goin'  to  begin.  I  know  it's  done, 
as  well  as  you  do;  I  haven't  heard  of  a  reward 
these  last  ten  years  that  you  people  have  copped 
out  that  some  gun  didn't  help  you  get ;  but  you 
can  keep  the  dough  for  all  me — when  you  get 
it.  I'm  a  bad  lot  if  you  like,  but  I  wouldn't  turn 
mouthpiece  for  the  whole  five  thousand." 

"  Better  wait  till  I  offer  'em,"  said  Minick  in 
tently;  "what'll  you  do  for  this?"  Minick 
passed  him  with  one  hand  a  telegram  from  Ak 
ron,  Ohio,  and  with  the  other  fingered  a  revolver 

40 


A  Bill  from  Tiffany's 

in  his  coat-pocket.  Minick's  acquaintances  whom 
he  met  in  the  way  of  business  were  sometimes 
spasmodic  in  their  movements.  Also  Richard 
Cober  was  age  thirty-six,  height  five  feet  eleven 
and  a  quarter,  complexion  dark,  eyes  blue  hazel, 
hair  prematurely  gray  and  black,  beard — that  is 
to  say,  close-cut  mustache — solid  black,  teeth 
good,  nose  large  and  pugnacious,  weight  a  hun 
dred  and  sixty-five  pounds. 

"  Swell  place  you  got  here,  Buck;  pie-anna, 
French  clock,  Turkey  rugs,  nice  kids;  I  should 
think  you'd  hate  to  shift." 

Minick  was  to  be  congratulated  on  the  com 
pleteness  with  which  he  had  thought  out  his  case. 

"  I  don't  want  to  be  hard  on  you,  Buck ;  I'll 
give  you  time  all  right  to  turn  the  thing  over  in 
your  mind;  but  understand  me,  I  want  those 
semoleons.  If  you  should  happen  to  discover  a 
way  of  helpin'  me  get  them,  well ! — it's  been  six 
years  since  I  seen  Bud  Denmer  in  Joliet ;  I  might 
be  so  stuck  on  myself  I  couldn't  recognize  him 
in  the  street  if  I  passed  him  a  dozen  times  a  day ; 
an'  I'm  the  only  man  on  the  force  that's  onto  his 
mug.  If  you  shouldn't  happen  to  discover  a 
way  of  helpin'  me,  that  telegram  reads  cuffs  in 
Clinton  Place,  jail  in  Akron,  Stir  in  Columbus, 
41 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

free  rides  between  pints,  an'  free  grub  an'  lodgin' 
everywhere." 

"  Dick,  you've  said  time  after  time  that  if  it 
ever  came  to  a  pass  again  where  you  had  to 
choose  between  me  and  the  kids  and  a  gun,  you'd 
let  the  gun  go;  and  you're  up  against  that 
choice  now,"  urged  Mrs.  Richard  Cober  when 
Minick  had  said  "  so-long  "  and  taken  his  leave. 
"  You've  got  enough  money  saved  up  to  quit  the 
business  anyhow.  I've  often  told  you  that  with 
what  we  have  in  the  bank  we  could  go  over  to 
London,  bring  up  the  kids  respectably  and  live 
decently  ourselves." 

"  A  man  like  me's  no  business  with  kids,  Nell, 
old  girl;  nor  with  a  woman  either,"  said  Cober 
wearily,  not  for  the  first  time  in  his  life  "  up 
against "  the  eternal  difference  between  a 
woman's  world  and  a  man's. 


III. 

Be  it  known  that  in  the  Under  World  as  in  the 
Upper  everybody  minds  his  own  business  when 
his  own  business  is  pressing;  when  it  is  not,  he 
minds  conscientiously  and  discusses  with  unction 
the  business  of  everybody  else.  Speaking  broad 
ly,  the  only  person  who  knows  nothing  and  can 
discover  nothing  of  who  did  what  is  the  detective ; 
he  is  as  well  known  as  if  he  moved  about  pre 
ceded  by  a  town  crier;  on  all  sides  of  him  the 
words  that  it  concerns  him  to  hear  are  vibrating 
in  the  air;  the  vibrations  die  away  just  before  they 
reach  his  ears. 

That  evening,  after  his  pacific  interview  with 
Minick,  Cober  loitered  listlessly  about  the  better 
sort  of  haunts  of  the  Powers  That  Prey.  He  was 
caught  up  by  groups  who  back  mathematics 
versus  confidence  and  stand  to  win,  and  heard  the 
latest  gossip  about  the  favorite,  the  odds  offered 
and  asked,  the  latest  news  of  the  champion's 
"  condition,"  the  latest  arrangements  for  a 
"  fake  "  match  of  bantam-weights,  in  which  ev- 

43 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

erybody  who  put  money  on  the  sure  thing  was  to 
gain  experience  at  the  end  of  a  rally  in  the  eighth 
round.  He  heard  the  last  great  score  at  billiards, 
the  last  great  game  at  hazard,  and  received  an  in 
vitation  to  make  one  of  a  select  party  forming  to 
work  the  crowd  at  the  coming  Cincinnati  Saen- 
gerfest.  From  time  to  time  in  the  lull  of  more 
urgent  affairs  a  remark  was  dropped  that 
"  Blinky  "  pulled  off  a  good  thing  two  days  ago 
at  "  Phillie,"  that  that  had  been  a  tidy  "  get 
away  "  the  night  before  on  Fifty-ninth  street 
("  Long  Morgan,  you  know,"  was  added  in  a 
lower  tone  by  way  of  complete  information),  and 
that  "  Barney  "  had  not  been  seen  for  some  days 
and  must  have  something  "  on." 

Richard  would  have  been  too  shrewd,  which  is 
to  say  he  loved  his  own  skin  too  intelligently,  to 
put  direct  questions  about  the  Sandys  job;  nor 
would  there  have  been  the  least  reason  why  he 
should  ask  questions.  The  Sandys  job  was  just 
becoming  a  subject  of  impassioned  surmise. 
Twenty  times  in  the  evening  Cober  himself  was 
asked  if  he  knew  who  did  it ;  twenty  times  he  lis 
tened  to  notes  of  admiration  of  the  cleverness 
with  which  it  had  been  planned  and  executed  and 
to  the  opinion  that  it  was  the  work  of  "  outside 

44 


A  Bill  from  Tiffany's 

talent."  Before  the  evening  was  gone  he  came 
to  loathe  outside  talent;  he  was  sick  of  outside 
talent,  he  was  sick  of  the  neatness  of  the  Sandys 
job,  he  was  sick  of  the  choice  that  he  must  make, 
and  of  the  evil  that  must  befall  him  no  matter 
what  he  chose.  For  himself  he  cared  really  little 
enough,  if  the  truth  were  told,  but  it  was  alto 
gether  true  that  a  man  like  him  had  no  business 
with  a  woman  and  kids. 

He  had  fully  mastered  his  ideas  in  this  connec 
tion  when  he  entered  "  The  Green  Dragon  "  and 
the  presiding  Belial  stepped  forward  and  handed 
him  a  note.  It  consisted  of  but  two  lines  and  a 
signature — he  had  received  the  precise  duplicate 
of  it  just  as  he  was  leaving  Clinton  Place :  "  I 
want  to  see  you  in  a  hurry,  Buck.  Pull  the  ringer 
at  the  number  given  in  the  other  note.  L.  C." 
Half  an  hour  afterward  he  was  sitting  at  the  bed 
side  of  Lubin  Cavanaugh,  in  a  house  on  Sixteenth 
street,  where  single  gentlemen  were  permitted  to 
pay  exorbitant  rates  for  lodging  in  exchange  for 
the  privilege  of  presenting  introductions  which 
guaranteed  their  reputability.  When  in  obedi 
ence  to  a  weak-voiced  summons  to  "  come  in  " 
Richard  first  entered  the  room,  he  perceived  an 
emaciated  head  fallen  back  in  an  ecstasy  of  ex- 

45 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

haustion  among  the  pillows ;  when  the  emaciated 
head  had  identified  its  visitor  as  "  Buck  "  Cober, 
it  hailed  him  with  "  Hello,  Old  Sport !  "  and  the 
man  to  whom  it  belonged  sat  upright,  threw 
back  the  bedclothes  and  resumed  an  interrupted 
labor,  which  was  the  labor  of  "  setting,"  or  pos 
sibly,  as  Richard  judged,  of  resetting,  jewels. 

"Thought  you  might  be  the  doctor  with  some 
more  dope.  He  an'  I  are  doin'  a  little  song  an' 
dance  together  while  I  fix  up  this  pennyweight 
job.  I'm  playin'  the  pennyweight  game  alone, 
an'  he  might  want  to  cut  in.  He'd  speculate  on 
these  sparklers  in  his  bill,  if  he  knew  I  had  'em — 
beutes,  ain't  they?" 

The  time  had  been  when  a  "  sparkler  "  had  the 
same  fascination  for  Richard  Cober  that  it  had  for 
Lubin  Cavanaugh,  but  he  was  in  no  mood  that 
evening  to  admire  another  man's  plunder.  A 
wonder  as  to  the  previous  ownership  of  the  jewels 
he  could  not  repress — even  in  the  "  Stir  "  men 
make  guesses  as  to  the  origin  of  an  unscheduled 
piece  of  bread — but  the  etiquette  of  the  Under 
World  forbids  inquiry  in  regard  to  such  matters. 

"Then  it's  just  a  song  an'  dance?"  Richard 
asked,  referring  to  the  bottles  of  medicine  on  the 
table  and  Cavanaugh's  reclining  position. 

46 


A  Bill  from  Tiffany's 

"  That's  all.  Never  felt  better  in  my  life.  The 
doc  calls  it  symptoms  o'  pneumonia,  but  they're 
the  kind  you  an'  I  had  when  we  made  out  we 
was  dyin'  o'  consumption  out  in  the  Joliet  Stir. 
'Member  how  we  got  into  the  hospital,  don't 
cher?  You  faded  away  on  soap,  an'  I  jus'  kept 
a-coughin'.  There  was  'bout  fifty  of  us  dyin'  o' 
consumption  that  stretcher,  wasn't  there?  What 
you  so  blue  about,  Buck?  Dig  into  that  booze 
there,  an'  get  a  brace  on.  You  an'  Nell  ain't 
been  havin'  a  row,  have  you?  " 

The  reference  to  Richard's  domestic  relations 
was  merely  experimental.  Cavanaugh  was  in 
such  good  spirits  himself  that  he  could  only  fall 
back  on  the  bachelor's  chronic  surmise  when  a 
married  friend  is  out  of  sorts. 

"  No.  It's  jus'  a  general  case  o'  grouch.  I 
get  hipped  ev'ry  now  an'  then  jus'  as  I  used  to. 
What  can  I  do  for  you,  Lubin?  I  got  to  shift  in 
a  few  minutes." 

The  two  looked  at  each  other  for  an  instant  in 
that  quick,  but  piercing  way  which  all  guns,  let 
alone  pals,  have.  Merely  a  week's  separation  is 
sufficient  to  make  necessary  this  preliminary  test 
of  a  comrade's  loyalty,  before  new  contracts  can 
be  entered  into.  Cavanaugh  believed  that  he 
47 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

saw  in  his  old  companion  the  same  "  Buck " 
Cober  of  "  square  deals  "  and  no  "  beefs." 

"  I'd  'a'  let  you  into  the  job,  Buck,"  he  said, 
"  but  it  was  jus'  the  kind  o'  game  to  attract  an 
old  single-handed  stiff  like  myself,  an'  I  played 
it  alone.  What  I  want  is  a  '  dopp  '  just  like  this 
one  without  the  break,"  and  he  handed  Cober  a 
little  instrument  newly  broken.  "  I've  got  to 
have  a  new  one  by  eleven  o'clock  to-morrow 
morning,  an'  I'll  be  dead  obliged  to  you  if  you'll 
get  it  for  me.  I'd  get  it  myself,  but  I  got  these 
symptoms,  you  know,  an'  the  push  thinks  I'm  out 
at  that  crib  in  Mexico,  rollin'  the  wheel.  Under 
stand,  don't  cher?  Say,  Buck,  if  it's  dough  you 
need,  reach  under  my  pillow  here  an'  you'll  find 
a  roll.  I  been  there  myself,  you  know." 

"  That's  all  right,  Lube.  'Tain't  as  bad  as 
that." 

"  Well,  take  care  o'  yourself,  old  man,  an'  if 
you  see  any  o'  the  push,  tell  'em  I'm  baskin'  in 
the  sun  down  among  the  Mexies.  So  long, 
Buck." 

"Well?"  said  Mrs.  Cober  expectantly,  when 
Richard  paused  at  the  close  of  his  account  of  the 
evening's  interview  with  Cavanaugh. 


A  Bill  from  Tiffany's 

"  Well !  It's  cuffs  in  Clinton  Place,  jail  in  Ak 
ron,  free  rides  between  pints,  free  grub  an'  lodgin' 
everywhere.  I  can't  '  beef '  on  a  pal  like  Cava- 
naugh,  Nell.  A  man's  got  to  stick  by  his 
friends." 

"  It  ain't  a  case  o'  beefin'  on  a  pal,  Dick;  it's 
a  case  o'  doin'  dirt  by  me  an'  the  kids.  There 
ain't  one  o'  your  friends  has  stood  by  you  like  me 
an'  the  kids ;  if  you  got  to  stick  by  your  friends, 
you  got  to  stick  by  us." 

"  It  won't  do,  Nell ;  a  gun's  seen  his  luck 
when  he  turns  mouthpiece ;  I've  watched  it  since 
I  was  a  little  shaver  sellin'  papers  an'  graftin' 
molls.  Be  square  with  the  push  an'  the  push'll 
be  square  with  you,  an'  it'll  be  the  better  for  you 
in  the  end.  I  don't  even  know  for  sure  that 
Cavanaugh  made  the  touch ;  but  whether  he  did 
or  not,  he'd  know  I  had  split  on  him,  an'  he'd 
follow  me  till  he  croaked." 

In  an  earlier  period  of  her  married  life  Mrs. 
Cober  would  at  this  point  have  resorted  to  tears 
or  to  blandishments.  She  had  learned,  how 
ever,  that  there  were  times  when  Dick  meant  what 
he  said,  and  she  was  of  opinion  as  she  studied 
him  that  this  was  one  of  the  times.  She  did  not 
in  the  least  give  up  the  battle ;  a  hard  man  makes 

49 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

a  hard  wife — unless  he  kills  her! — and  she  had 
her  idea.  If  she  had  been  altogether  wise  she 
would  have  held  her  tongue,  but  it  is  not  in  nature 
to  be  so  wise  as  that. 

"  A  woman  is  perfectly  helpless  when  she's  tied 
to  a  man  that  means  to  play  the  fool,"  she  said 
bitterly.  "  You  have  to  be  square  to  the  push 
or  the  push  will  get  even  with  you ;  you  can  do 
as  you  like  by  the  woman  an'  the  kids.  No  mat 
ter  what  you  do,  they've  got  to  stand  for  it." 

This  statement  being  self-evident,  Richard 
Cober  made  no  reply  to  it;  he  went  to  bed. 
Half  an  hour  later  Mrs.  Cober  put  on  her  hat  and 
shawl  and  softly  left  the  house :  that  perhaps  was 
a  part  of  her  idea. 


IV. 


The  raid  was  one  of  those  ordinary  man-hunts 
with  the  game  at  bay,  the  details  of  which  even 
the  newspapers  have  long  since  wearied  of  re 
porting.  The  "  flatties  "  in  uniforms  surrounded 
the  place,  and  Minick  with  three  fellow  huntsmen 
went  into  the  building  to  face  an  animal  rather 
more  dangerous  than  one  of  the  larger  carnivora. 
The  animal,  however,  was  intelligent.  Cava- 
naugh  had  not  the  slightest  chance  of  escape,  and 
knew  it  the  minute  his  door  was  forced  open  and 
the  detectives  drew  their  revolvers.  "  They're 
good,"  he  remarked  in  the  gambler's  jargon,  and 
allowed  himself  to  be  handcuffed.  His  only 
comment  on  the  capture  lay  in  the  words :  "  An 
other  case  of  beef." 

The  Sandys  jewels  were  all  found  in  Cava- 
naugh's  possession,  a  number  of  them  very  skill 
fully  reset  and  two  of  the  larger  very  skillfully  dis 
figured.  The  public  prints  rang  the  next  day 
with  the  praise  of  the  celebrated  Minick  and  re 
peated  their  version  of  the  unrecognized  intellect- 

S1 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

ual  profession,  which  taxes  the  swiftest  and  sub 
tlest  powers  of  the  mind  and  to  which  society 
owes  its  immunity  from  crime.  "  If  a  man  is 
built  for  the  perfession,"  the  illustrious  Minick 
was  reported  to  have  said,  "  he  can  cop  out  a  gun 
as  if  by  miracle;  if  he  ain't,  he  can  sit  at  table 
with  the  man  that's  wanted  an'  study  his  photo 
graph  an'  go  home  a  dead  one."  .  .  Every 
reporter  agreed  that  the  celebrated  Minick  was 
"  built  for  the  perfession,"  and  had  laid  his  hand 
as  if  by  miracle  on  the  man  that  was  wanted ;  what 
they  did  not  give  him  credit  for  was  a  gift  for 
statement  not  greatly  unlike  their  own. 

Sadie  Meeker  drew  the  attention  of  both  Mar 
gie  and  Kittie  to  the  most  highly  ornate  para 
graphs  in  praise  of  the  celebrated  Minick  and  en 
joyed  the  proud  delight  of  fame.  She  had  been 
in  some  doubt  until  the  newspapers  took  him  up 
whether  she  cared  for  him  "  really,"  but  the  re 
porters'  eloquence  decided  her.  When  the  ring 
was  brought  a  great  flush  of  triumph  came  into 
her  face — the  diamond  was  bigger  than  Kittie's 
and  prettier.  "  Oh,  Charley,  there  is  scale  in 
your  job,"  she  exclaimed,  "  and  I  will  marry  you 
— for  your  mustache !  "  The  "  box  "  was  as 
satisfactory  as  the  stone,  and  a  receipted  bill  from 
Tiffany's  was  even  more  satisfactory  than  the 

5* 


A  Bill  from  Tiffany's 

box ;  but  there  were  a  number  of  items  of  which 
Tiffany  took  no  account. 

The  week  that  the  marriage  of  Detective 
Minick  was  announced,  an  incident  occurred  in 
one  of  the  side-streets  of  the  city  of  Mexico.  Dif 
ferent  accounts  of  the  affair  appeared  at  the  time 
in  the  police  columns  of  the  daily  press  of  the 
city,  but  the  only  arrest  that  was  ever  made  was 
of  the  young  man  who,  on  reading  the  items  in 
the  newspapers,  volunteered  the  information  that 
on  the  night  of  the  incident  in  question  he  had 
seen  a  suspicious-looking  figure  loitering  about 
the  corner  where  the  injured  man  was  found.  He 
said  furthermore  that  on  turning  the  corner  him 
self  he  had  heard  the  sound  of  a  bit  of  scuffling, 
but  there  was  no  outcry.  He  very  much  regret 
ted,  as  he  stated  to  the  police,  that  he  had  not 
turned  back  and  investigated,  but  he  was  in  a 
hurry  at  the  time  and  gave  no  serious  heed  to  the 
episode.  He  described  the  suspicious-looking 
man  that  he  had  seen  merely  as  a  heavily  built 
man  with  noticeably  square  jaws,  and  added  that 
he  looked  like  an  American,  although  of  this  he 
was,  of  course,  not  sure.  Naturally,  the  police 
tried  to  find  a  reason  for  "  holding  "  the  young 
53 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

•^ 
man ;  it  served  him  right  for  offering  information 

that  led  to  nothing;  but  his  good  name  among 
his  neighbors  as  well  as  with  certain  influential 
city  officials,  made  it  impossible  seriously  to  sus 
pect  him.  At  the  city  hospital,  where  the  injured 
man  was  taken,  certain  papers  and  checks  found 
in  his  pockets  showed  that  he  conducted  his 
financial  affairs  at  least  over  the  name  of  Oliver 
Hewes,  but  the  police  were  much  puzzled  to  find 
tattooed  in  blue  ink  on  the  left  forearm,  the  name 
"  Buck  Cober."  The  lettering  was  somewhat 
blurred,  and  the  inference  of  the  police  was  that 
the  man  had  tried  to  prick  it  out  with  milk.  He 
never  regained  consciousness,  and  it  was  impos 
sible  to  obtain  any  statement  from  him.  The 
wound  in  his  head  seemed  to  indicate  that  he  had 
been  hit  with  an  uncommonly  heavy  billy.  A 
woman  came  forward  from  nowhere  in  particular 
to  claim  the  body,  but  she  showed  no  disposition 
to  supply  biographical  details ;  she  dedicated  her 
energy  to  hysterics. 

It  has,  perhaps,  no  connection  with  this  in 
cident  that  two  weeks  previously  the  following 
paragraph  appeared  in  various  newspapers  in  the 
United  States :  "  Lubin  Cavanaugh,  alias  New 

York   Lube,   escaped  from  prison  last 

54 


A  Bill  from  Tiffany's 

night.  He  is  a  notorious  professional  burglar 
and  has  a  record  against  him  which  takes  up  sev 
eral  pages  of  the prison's  blotter.  A  re 
ward  of  $500  is  offered  for  his  capture  and  im 
prisonment  until  the  prison  authorities  can  be 
-ommunicated  with."  There  are  those  who  rate 
themselves  "  wise/'  however,  who  believe  that 
the  two  trivial  incidents  are  connected,  and  that 
a  belated  item  should  be  added  to  the  Bill  from 
Tiffany's. 


55 


THE  REVENGE  OF  THE  FOUR. 
I. 

One  evening,  or  rather  one  morning,  in  May, 
189 — ,  in  the  "  Slide,"  which  everybody  knows, 
though  that  is  not  its  name,  a  mixed  company  of 
men  and  women  were  glad  that  they  were  young. 
Therefore  they  ordered  miscellaneous  drinks 
and  smoked  cigarettes  and  listened  to  three 
"  darkies "  explain,  to  the  accompaniment  of 
three  guitars,  that  they  find  the  Western  Union 
a  convenience  no  matter  where  they  roam,  and 
that  they  will  telegraph  their  baby,  who'll  send 
ten  or  twenty  maybe,  and  they  won't  have  to 
walk  back  home. 

In  marked  contrast  with  the  other  visitors  that 
evening  at  the  "  Slide,"  there  sat  close  about  a 
table,  in  earnest  consultation,  four  celebrities, 
whom  the  "  house  "  treated  with  distinguished 
deference. 

There  is  a  little  black  book  without  a  title  or 
title-page  in  which  very  good  woodcuts  may  be 

5* 


The  Revenge  of  the  Four 

seen  of  the  faces  of  the  four  celebrities  and  of 
other  celebrities,  friends  and  rivals  of  the  four. 
Also  there  are  capital  photographs  of  the  four  and 
of  their  friends  and  rivals;  and  on  each  of  the 
photographs  as  on  each  of  the  woodcuts  there  is 
a  number,  and  corresponding  to  each  number 
there  is  a  minute  description,  beginning  with 
"  Name  and  Alias  "  and  ending  in  "  Remarks." 
This  book  and  these  photographs  are  not  dealt 
in  by  the  trade,  neither  are  they  for  sale  or  gen 
eral  distribution  by  any  one;  they  are  made  for 
the  use  of  gentlemen  who  commit  such  portraits 
to  memory  as  if  they  were  words  in  a  strange 
language,  and  who  walk  abroad,  with  the  knowl 
edge  thus  acquired,  in  the  deliberate  wish  to 
make  trouble. 

These  four  celebrities  were  persons  of  varied 
accomplishments,  and  of  considerable  capital  and 
industry,  which  they  placed  at  the  service  of  an 
appreciative  public.  The  four  were  instruments 
of  that  fall  which  it  is  good  divinity  and  common 
observation  to  believe  cometh  after  pride  of 
sapience.  Wherever  there  gathered  people 
whose  confidence  was  greater  than  their  discre 
tion  and  who  were  willing  to  back  their  opinion, 
the  four  lent  them  every  facility ;  thereby  benefit- 

57 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

ing  them  and  forming  them  in  the  self-knowledge 
which  philosophers  declare  is  the  beginning  and 
the  end  of  wisdom.  The  four  were  clever  with 
their  hands,  had  mastered  in  some  of  its  most 
profitable  applications  the  truth  that  motion  may 
be  quicker  than  sight,  and  drew  a  steady  revenue 
from  the  desire  of  mankind  to  learn  by  experience. 
Their  fellow-countrymen  showed  their  apprecia 
tion  of  talents  like  these  by  first  enriching  the 
possessors,  by  private  contribution,  then  from 
time  to  time  by  offering  them  public  receptions 
at  which  speeches  were  in  order,  and  by  tender 
ing  them  for  a  considerable  period  the  hospitality 
of  the  State.  It  should  in  justice,  be  added,  that 
every^one  of  the  four  was  of  a  retiring  disposition 
and  shunned  these  public  attentions  whenever 
possible. 

This  May  evening  in  the  "  Slide  "  they  had  met 
by  appointment  in  the  way  of  business.  Their 
business  for  the  moment  seemed  to  consist  in  the 
attentive  contemplation  of  a  calendar  of  local 
shows  and  festivals  and  generally  of  occasions  on 
which  anywhere  in  the  United  States  in  the  next 
three  months  extraordinary  crowds  would  con 
gregate.  At  any  expense  of  labor  or  of  incon 
venience  to  themselves  they  were  ambitious  to  af- 

58 


The  Revenge  of  the  Four 

ford  their  services  to  the  greatest  number  of  peo 
ple  in  the  greatest  number  of  places,  in  the  short 
est  space  of  time  possible.  The  question  of  the 
day  was,  in  which  part  of  the  country  and  with 
what  "  graft  "  the  benefit  of  their  services  should 
first  be  offered.  The  four  had  traveled  widely 
and  observantly,  but  not  always  in  one  another's 
company,  and  there  were  differences  of  opinion 
in  regard  to  the  territory  most  likely  at  once  to 
receive  them  with  due  appreciation  and  to  respect 
the  modesty  which  disinclined  them  to  public 
attentions. 

Mr.  Eady,  called  "Mike"  among  his  intimates, 
and  "  Tier  4,  No.  30,896  "  among  his  attendants 
at  a  mansion  of  more  than  monastic  seclusion, 
facetiously  known  as  his  "  lying-in  hospital," 
favored  a  preliminary  jaunt  to  a  reunion  of  Civil 
War  Veterans  to  be  held  in  the  South.  He 
backed  up  the  suggestion  with  promises  of  suc 
cess,  which,  on  account  of  his  experience  and  age 
— he  had  just  passed  his  fifty-sixth  year — were 
listened  to  with  marked  attention. 

"  There's  more  suckers  in  a  day  down  in  that 
part  of  the  country,"  he  declared,  "  than  there 
is  up  here  in  a  week.  We've  all  been  in  the 
hill  country  in  West  Virginia  on  circus  days,  ain't 
we?  Well,  the  class  o'  people  you  find  there  are 

59 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

runnin'  loose  all  over  the  South.  They  take  in 
'bout  one  show  a  season,  an'  when  they  get  to 
town  they  rubber  so  that  they  ain't  thinkin'  'bout 
their  leathers  at  all.  W'y,  I've  seen  those  yaps 
come  to  town  an'  throw  up  their  hands  at  sights 
that  a  Bowery  kid  wouldn't  drop  a  cigarette 
snipe  to  see.  Put  'em  in  front  of  a  side-show's 
banners  an'  they'll  screw  their  necks  till  you'd 
think  they  was  never  goin'  to  get  'em  in  shape 
again.  They  work  like  steers  on  their  farms  an' 
don't  see  enthin'  excitin'  more'n  once  or  twice  a 
year,  an'  when  a  big  thing  conies  along  it  stag 
gers  'em.  The  same  class  o'  yaps  is  goin'  to  be 
at  the  reunion.  I  can  see  jus'  exactly  how  the 
thing's  goin'  to  be.  Those  old  soldiers,  you 
know,  '11  come  in  from  the  country  an'  rubber 
themselves  silly.  They'll  chew  the  rag  right  in 
a  crowd,  blockin'  up  the  way  an'  makin'  pushes 
so's  a  bloke  won't  need  any  stalls.  Colonel  Jim- 
J'ams  from  Kentucky  '11  see  Captain  Coffee 
Cooler  from  New  Orleans,  an'  they'll  beller.an' 
holler,  an'  han'  round  plug  tobacco  an'  fine-cut 
right  in  a  big  jamb,  an'  Jim-jams  '11  suggest  a 
mint  julep.  Then  they'll  push  an'  squeeze  to 
get  out  o'  the  crowd,  an'  off  comes  the  touch. 
You  know  the  single-handed  worker,  Sneezy 

60 


The  Revenge  of  the  Four 

Johnson?  Well,  he  told  me  not  more'n  six 
weeks  ago  that  jus'  such  yaps  as  Jim-jams  an' 
Coffee  Cooler  stalled  for  'im  at  a  gatherin'  in 
South  Carolina  better'n  a  trained  push.  '  W'y, 
Mike/  he  says,  '  I  don't  want  nothin'  easier  'n 
gettin'  those  people  to  bite.  They're  jus'  like 
sheep.  Let  somebody  holler  that  the  elephants 
is  comin'  an'  they  crowd  an'  shove  's  if  they  was 
bughouse.  I  was  amongst  'em  when  Bryan 
struck  Atlanta,  an'  it's  God's  truth,  my  hands 
actually  got  tired  weedin'  the  leathers  I  pulled 
up.'  Now,  I  tell  you,  blokes,  we  don't  want  to 
lose  a  chance  like  the  reunion  .'less  there's  some- 
thin'  a  damn  sight  better  somewhere  else.  It 
won't  cost  us  over  ten  days  to  take  it  in,  an'  then 
we  can  jump  West,  or  where  you  like." 

"  You're  all  right  'bout  the  yaps  bitin',  Mike," 
remarked  Mr.  Burras,  familiarly  known  as 
"  Larry,"  "  but  there's  goin'  to  be  an  all-fired  big 
push  o'  guns  at  that  reunion,  an'  you  know  how 
those  yaps  are.  They  take  the  bait  like  catfish, 
but  look  out  when  the  hollerin'  begins.  W'y, 
they  nearly  lynched  Jerry  Simpson  an'  the  Michi 
gan  Kid  in  a  jerk  town  in  Georgia  las'  winter. 
The  two  was  hittin'  it  up  pretty  lively,  and  an  old 
hoosier  woke  up  out  o'  one  of  his  dreams  while 
61 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

the  Kid's  fist  was  in  his  pocket,  an'  he  went  bel- 
lowin'  like  a  moose  all  over  the  shop.  If  the 
coppers  hadn't  jumped  in  an'  rescued  the  Kid  the 
yaps  'ud  'a'  croaked  'im  sure,  an'  it  cost  his  push 
a  thousand  plunks  to  spring  him  from  the  cop 
pers.  There's  goin'  to  be  a  big  push  o'  visitin' 
coppers  at  the  reunion,  too,  an'  if  any  of  'em 
knows  us  they'll  beef  dead  sure,  'less  we  square 
'em,  an'  they'll  beef  anyhow  if  the  guns  go  it  too 
strong,  an'  that's  jus'  what's  goin'  to  happen. 
There'll  be  such  a  lot  o'  suckers  that  the  guns  '11 
work  'em  hard,  an'  there'll  have  to  be  a  lot  o' 
springin'  done.  My  advice  is — 'course,  if  they 
ain't  nothin'  better — that  we  take  in  the  through 
rattlers  on  the  Pennsy  or  the  Central  for  the  next 
few  weeks  an'  go  it  sort  o'  quiet  like  till  we  see 
how  things  are  pannin'  out.  Them  passengers 
on  the  through  rattlers  are  always  good  for  twen 
ty-five  or  fifty,  an'  we  can  give  'em  the  change 
an'  raise  rackets.  At  night  we  can  pull  off  some 
Pullman  touches.  I  ain't  stuck  on  this  kind  o' 
graftin',  but  it's  my  opinion  that  it'll  suit  us  bet- 
ter'n  the  reunion  will  at  this  stage  o'  the  game." 
Mr.  Renn,  with  the  descriptive  "  monikey  " 
Shorty,  agreed  with  Mr.  Burras  that  the  reunion 
was  impracticable,  but  for  reasons  which  the  oth« 

62 


The  Revenge  of  the  Four 

ers  understood  but  did  not  seriously  consider, 
favored  remaining  in  town,  and  "  taking  in  "  such 
events  as  funerals  until  the  season  was  more  ad 
vanced.  "  Coin'  to  be  some  big  stiffs  to  work 
at  this  month,"  he  remarked  appreciatively,  "  an' 
if  we  don't  attend  to  'em  somebody  else  will — 
take  my  tip  for  that."  Mr.  Renn  was  engaged 
to  be  married  to  "  a  sweet  little  thing  "  on  the 
East  Side,  and,  as  his  companions  well  knew,  was 
not  competent  to  make  acceptable  suggestions. 

Mr.  Frood,  affectionately  termed  "  Eddie  "  by 
an  indulgent  wife,  as  well  as  by  his  three  pals, 
proposed  a  jaunt  through  the  great  State  of  Ohio, 
and  made  good  his  reasons  for  the  selection  of 
this  locality  with  very  convincing  arguments  and 
illustrations. 

"  There's  no  use  talkin',  blokes,"  he  said, 
"  there  ain't  been  no  improvement  on  old  Ohio 
in  any  State  o'  the  Union.  She's  been  touched 
up  right  an'  left,  backward  an'  forward,  an'  side 
ways  an'  crossways,  an'  there  she  sits  still,  sayin' : 
'  Gimme  some  more,  honey,  gimme  some  more/ 
W'y,  blokes,  it's  one  o'  the  phenomenons  o'  the 
age,  as  Jimmy  the  Greek  used  to  say,  the  way 
Ohio  has  been  ripped  open  by  politicians  an' 
guns,  an'  keeps  as  chipper  as  ever.  W'y,  them 

63 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

railroad  junctions  o'  hers  has  been  touched  up  for 
the  last  twenty-five  years,  an'  they're  as  good  as 
government  bonds  yet.  Better,  by  Jove !  I 
don't  want  any  neater  graft  than  floatin'  'round 
them  junctions.  An'  I'd  like  to  know  where 
there's  another  State  where  you  can  fix  things  the 
way  you  can  in  Ohio.  The  politicians  'a'  got 
the  State  by  the  throat,  an'  you  know  as  well  as  I 
do,  that  where  they  get  their  graft  in  guns  can 
too. 

"  Now's  the  time  when  the  circuses  begin  their 
rounds,  an'  the  thing  for  us  to  do  is  to  jump  over 
there,  tie  up  with  one  o'  the  shows,  an'  jus'  take 
its  dates.  I  was  over  there  last  season  with 
Myers  an'  Randall,  an'  we  only  had  to  make  one 
spring,  an'  that  didn't  cost  us  over  six  hundred. 
By  August  we  had  six  thousand  plunks — even 
money — banked.  We  can't  do  any  better'n  that 
anywhere,  an'  I  say  that  we  hunt  up  a  good  sneak 
an'  climber  (sneak-thief  and  burglar)  an'  jump 
over  there." 

"  Do  you  know  what  fixers  are  travelin'  with 
the  shows?  "  asked  Mr.  Eady. 

"  There  ain't  been  any  changes.  I  saw  Cin 
cinnati  Red  day  before  yesterday,  an'  he  said  the 
shows  had  the  same  coppers.  Some  of  'em  has 

64 


The  Revenge  of  the  Four 

come  up  a  little  in  their  commission  charges,  but 
most  of  'em  are  askin'  twenty  per  cent,  same  as 
usual.  Fifteen  per  cent,  goes  with  some  of  'em 
if  you  ain't  on  the  dip,  an'  are  jus'  doin'  the  sure 
thing  act." 

This  conversation  took  place  in  the  inscrutable 
lipless  enunciation  of  the  profession.  The  night 
festival  in  the  "  Slide  "  was  still  at  its  height,  and 
above  all  the  sound  of  light  laughter,  of  popping 
corks  and  shuffling  feet,  the  voices  of  the  three 
"  darkies  "  proclaimed  to  the  accompaniment  of 
the  three  guitars,  that  they  had  got  a  horseless 
carriage  an'  a  footman  too,  and  yellow  coachmen 
by  the  score ;  that  they'd  said  good-by  to  all  the 
coons,  'cause  we  ain't  poor  no  more. 


II. 


Adolph  Hochheimer,  mayor  at  this  time  of  the 
city  of  Cornville,  was  a  politician  of  the  school 
whose  first  principle  it  is  to  let  the  people  have 
whatever  they  want,  provided  always  they  want 
it  badly  enough  to  make  a  fuss  about  it.  He 
was  not  one  of  those  spurious  republicans  whose 
notion  of  political  liberty  is  that  every  man  be  al 
lowed  to  govern  both  himself  and  every  one  else 
according  to  the  dictates  of  his  conscience.  He 
believed  in  the  sacred  right  of  the  working  ma 
jority  to  indulge  in  the  particular  shade  of  mis- 
government  to  which  they  have  a  fancy  and  in 
the  sacred  duty  of  the  minority  to  submit,  with 
out  offensive  partisanship  except  for  campaign 
purposes.  In  the  absence  of  so  marked  a  prefer 
ence  on  the  part  of  the  people  that  they  are  will 
ing  to  make  a  fuss  about  it,  he  believed  in  the 
right  of  the  governor  to  please  his  friends  and  in 
particular  his  most  dearly  cherished  friend,  which 
is  himself.  He  had  qualified  himself  in  general 
for  knowing  what  the  people  want  by  offering 

66 


The  Revenge  of  the  Four 

them  for  years  the  hospitality  of  his  barroom; 
they  wanted  insatiably  to  pay  infinite  "  nickels  " 
for  infinite  glasses  of  indifferent  beer  which  cost 
him  half  a  cent  apiece;  they  made  it  impossible 
for  him  to  take  the  amount  of  rest  allowed  him 
in  the  early  morning  hours  and  on  Sunday  by  an 
indulgent  "  license."  His  apprenticeship  in  high 
politics  he  began  when  he  constructed  his  first 
block  of  tenement  houses  with  thinner  walls  and 
less  commodious  apartments  than  the  law  com 
mands:  he  was  obliged  to  "  square  "  the  building 
committee.  His  serious  studies  he  perfected 
during  the  period  when  he  humanely  rented  his 
apartments  to  a  class  of  people  for  whom  the  law 
commands  that  there  shall  be  no  abiding-place 
whatever.  He  was  obliged  to  "  square  "  every 
body  and  keep  them  "  squared,"  and  they  showed 
an  equal  facility  in  taking  on  the  required  shape 
and  in  losing  it  again. 

As  chief  executive  of  the  city  of  Cornville  he 
had  succeeded  an  incumbent  who  had  been  the 
candidate  of  a  reform  party.  A  reform  party  in 
the  United  States  is  usually  an  acute  disorder  of 
the  body  politic,  a  spasm  or  epileptic  fit  of  virtue, 
very  disagreeable  to  any  one  with  a  sense  of  dig 
nity.  A  reform  party  that  has  elected  its  candi- 
67 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

dates  becomes  a  lingering  disease,  very  disagree 
able  to  every  one  whether  he  has  a  sense  of  dig 
nity  or  not.  In  regard  to  a  sense  of  dignity 
in  the  city  of  Cornville  no  positive  statement  can 
be  made;  in  regard  to  its  distaste  as  month  suc 
ceeded  month  for  political  epilepsy  as  the  rule  of 
life  it  is  difficult  to  make  a  statement  too  positive. 
The  men  of  light  and  leading  who  had  objected 
to  other  men's  getting  their  little  bills  "  jobbed  " 
found  it  impossible  to  get  their  own  little 
bills  "  jobbed  "  :  the  case  was  intolerable.  Mayor 
Renshaw  was  a  Cato  the  Censor  in  every  man's 
street,  and  no  considerable  body  of  human  beings 
have  ever  professed  a  wish  (and  stuck  to  the  pro 
fession)  to  be  as  good  as  Cato.  Mayor  Renshaw 
was  so  good  as  to  be  unpleasant  and  was  the  cause 
of  an  unpleasant  goodness  in  others.  Mayor 
Hochheimer  was  elected  as  the  "  regular  "  candi 
date,  to  the  open  rejoicing  of  almost  every  one, 
and  to  the  concealed  rejoicing  of  almost  every 
one  else,  and  the  body  politic  resumed  a  condition 
of  health.  Every  one  found  it  possible  to  get  his 
little  bill  "  jobbed,"  and  the  new  executive,  out 
of  whom  hitherto,  as  a  man  of  business,  politics 
had  made  money,  began  to  reap  the  harvest  of  his 
long  studies  and  with  perfect  mastery  made 
money  out  of  politics. 

68 


The  Revenge  of  the  Four 

On  the  morning  that  the  "  Great  and  Only 
Combination  Circus  and  Menagerie  "  was  getting 
ready  for  the  afternoon  entertainment  in  the  city 
of  Cornville,  a  gentleman  in  the  full-jeweled  regi 
mentals  of  a  sport,  but  with  a  badge  on  his  waist 
coat  which  proclaimed  him  to  be  a  private  de 
tective,  called  at  the  mayor's  office  in  the  town 
hall  and  asked  for  an  interview  with  "  His  Honor 
able,  Mr.  Hochheimer."  The  interview  was 
granted  him. 

"  Good  morning,  Mr.  Hochheimer.  This  is  a 
pleasant  day." 

"  Very  pleasant,  sir,  very  pleasant.  Take  a 
seat,  sir.  Don't  know  as  I  ever  saw  a  pleasanter 
at  jest  this  season  of  the  year." 

The  two  men  made  mental  notes  upon  each 
other  while  these  original  courtesies  were  being 
exchanged.  The  private  detective  speculated  on 
whether  Mr.  Hochheimer  was  "  workable,"  and 
the  mayor  decided  that  the  private  detective  was 
in  a  very  lucrative  business  to  be  able  to  afford 
so  impressive  a  uniform. 

"  I  am  the  special  officer,  Mr.  Hochheimer,  of 
the  '  Great  and  Only  Combination  Circus  and 
Menagerie/  which  is  to  show  here  this  afternoon 
and  evening,  and  I  have  taken  the  liberty  of  pre- 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

senting  complimentary  tickets  to  your  chief  of 
police,  and  am  here  now  to  offer  some  to  you.  We 
should  be  very  glad  if  you  would  make  use  of  the 
half-dozen  in  this  envelope.  We  shall  feel  hon 
ored  if  you  can  find  the  time  to  visit  the  enter 
tainments  in  person." 

"  Very  kind,  sir,  very  kind.  I  judge  from  the 
posters  about  town  that  you  have  a  very  attract 
ive  show." 

"  Yes,  we  offer  the  public  a  varied  programme. 
I  think  I  may  say  very  varied,  sir." 

It  is  strictly  to  be  noted  that  this  exchange  of 
commonplaces  was  not  ineptitude:  in  the  lan 
guage  of  the  prize  ring  it  was  sparring  for  an 
opening. 

The  mayor,  who  was  approached  in  this  man 
ner  on  an  average  of  twice  a  week,  was  perfectly 
aware  that  the  circus  representative's  business  was 
not  yet  transacted.  He  leaned  back  in  his  chair 
in  an  attitude  of  expectation. 

"  Mr.  Hochheimer,"  the  detective  continued  at 
last,  "  besides  being  the  special  officer  of  the  cir 
cus  company,  I  am  also  the  business  representa 
tive  of  some  of  the  '  side-show '  concerns  con 
nected  with  the  circus." 

"Jest  so,"  said  the  mayor. 
70 


The  Revenge  of  the  Four 

"  Exactly,"  said  the  detective. 

Whereupon  both  men  looked  a  shade  more 
thoughtful  in  order  to  convince  each  other  that 
neither  had  the  least  inclination  to  smile. 

"  Among  the  '  side-show  '  interests  which  I 
represent  are  some  amusing  games  which  we  are 
taking  along  with  us  this  summer.  We  try  to 
.have  novelties  every  year,  you  know." 

"  Jest  so,"  said  the  mayor. 

"  They  are  harmless  little  games  of  chance,  you 
know,  at  which  the  visitor  to  the  show  may  take 
in  twenty  times  his  money,  or  maybe  fifty  times," 
said  the  detective,  who  labored  to  be  accurate. 
"  We  run  the  games,  you  know,  more  to  draw  a 
crowd  before  the  circus  than  anything  else;  it 
isn't  at  all  our  notion  to  make  money  out  of  the 
games — except  just  to  pay  expenses;  they're,  so 
to  speak,  a  kind  of  advertisement.  We  thought," 
concluded  the  detective,  with  childlike  simplicity, 
"  that  we  ought  to  explain  this  to  you  before 
hand." 

"  What  is  the  nature  of  these  games?  "  asked 
the  mayor,  also  with  childlike  simplicity. 

"  Well,  one  is  a  variation  of  the  old  shell-game, 
that  as  a  boy  you  doubtless  yourself  became  ac 
quainted  with.  Then  we  are  experimenting  with 
6  71 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

a  little  wheel  and  a  pea  that  we  have  been  led  to 
believe  might  entertain  the  boys.  The  pea  goes 
skipping  around,  you  know,  and  if  it  stops  at  the 
right  place,  the  boy  wins." 

Here  there  was  a  really  impressive  pause. 
The  mayor's  face  had  become  of  a  portentous 
gravity ;  he  cleared  his  throat  as  if  preparatory  to 
the  declaration  of  a  moral  principle. 

"  There  are  but  two  other  matters  in  regard  to 
which  I  need  trespass  upon  your  attention,"  said 
the  astute  middleman,  who  did  not  conceive  it 
possible  the  mayor  could  at  the  moment  have 
anything  to  say  that  would  be  to  the  profit  of  his 
employers.  "  It  is  the  wish  of  the  gentlemen 
who  are  handling  the  little  games  of  which  I  speak 
to  testify  their  gratitude  to  your  charming  town 
for  the  hospitality  it  showed  them  the  last  time 
they  were  here."  This  certainly  demonstrated 
a  Christian  spirit  on  the  part  of  two  at  least  of  his 
employers :  the  hospitality  to  which  they  had  been 
treated  on  their  last  visit  to  Cornville  had  con 
sisted  mainly  in  a  new  and  perfectly  snug  suit  of 
tar  and  feathers.  "  They  wish  to  distribute — a 
— five  hundred  dollars  amongst  your  private 
charities,  and  would  regard  it  as  a  great  favor 
if  you,  Mr.  Hochheimer,  who  can  apply  the 

72 


The  Revenge  of  the  Four 

money  with  so  much  more  discretion  than  is  at 
all  possible  to  us  outsiders,  would  take  charge  of 
the  funds." 

Here  he  produced  a  neat  package  which  he 
laid  on  the  desk  before  the  mayor.  The  mayor's 
face  assumed  a  look  of  extreme  abstraction. 

"  The  other  little  matter  relates  only  to  the 
subject  of  police  protection.  It  is  the  policy  of 
the  '  Great  and  Only  '  to  rely  largely  upon  the 
local  police  for  protection;  paying  liberally,  of 
course,  for  the  extra  service  they  request.  They 
find  this  policy  more — more  satisfactory  to  every 
one.  I  am  about  to  speak  to  your  chief  of  po 
lice  on  the  subject,  but  thought  it  more  courteous 
first  to  address  you ;  particularly  as  it  seems  much 
simpler  to  make  one  arrangement  for  the  protec 
tion  of  the  grounds  as  a  whole — the  main  show, 
the  side-shows,  and — well! — all  the  little  booths 
that  are  set  up  along  with  the  main  show." 

"  Has  the  show  taken  out  its  license?  "  asked 
the  mayor  with  the  politeness  of  a  man  who  can 
take  in  an  idea,  without  having  his  skull  cracked 
to  make  room  for  it. 

"  The  license?  Oh,  yes,  Mr.  Mayor,  the  license 
is  all  right." 

"  I  will  consider  the  matters    of   which    you 

73 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

speak  with  the  chief  of  police,"  said  the  mayor, 
with  the  grand  air.  The  chief  of  police  was  the 
commander  of  fifteen  patrolmen  and  one  wagon. 

"  It  is  a  pleasure  to  meet  a  gentleman  who  has 
had  experience  of  affairs,"  said  the  polite  middle 
man,  rising  to  take  his  leave.  "  I  was  happy  to 
see  that  you  were  put  in  office  by  a  majority 
which  promises  a  reelection."  ' 

"  Hope  your  show  will  have  every  success," 
said  the  mayor ;  "  hope  you  will  have  fair 
weather." 

"  To-day  at  all  events  is  a  pleasant  day,"  said 
the  detective. 

"  Very  pleasant,  sir,  very  pleasant ;  don't  know 
that  I  ever  saw  a  pleasanter  at  jest  this  season  of 
the  year." 


74 


III. 


There  was  still  an  hour  to  while  away  before 
the  afternoon  entertainment  in  the  big  tent  of  the 
"  Great  and  Only  Combination  Circus  and 
Menagerie "  would  begin.  The  parade  had 
taken  place  in  the  morning,  and  the  visitors  to 
the  show  were  gathering  on  the  grounds.  Since 
early  morning  they  had  packed  the  highways 
that  converge  at  Cornville  as  the  spokes  of  a 
wheel  converge  at  the  hub.  Never  before,  ex 
cept  during  the  "  Free  Silver  "  presidential  strug 
gle,  when  the  successful  contestant  had  favored 
its  people  with  a  Pullman  car  platform  speech, 
had  the  city  contained  such  a  motley  collection. 
Crops  were  promising,  the  distinguished  fellow 
citizen  in  Washington  had  promised  "  good 
times,"  the  omnipotent  stock-broker  in  Cleveland 
was  backing  the  distinguished  fellow  citizen — and 
it  is  only  once  a  year  that  the  "  Great  and  Only  " 
visits  Cornville.  The  "  yaps  "  as  Mr.  Eady  had 
called  them,  or  if  you  prefer,  the  "  backbone  and 
intelligence  of  a  great  nation,"  as  the  President 

75 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

had  assured  them  he  felt  them  to  be,  had  passed 
a  private  resolution  that  for  the  time  being  their 
line  fences  could  be  "  goll  darned  " :  they  were 
going  to  take  a  day  off.  The  four  celebrities 
were  present  to  lend  the  charm  of  surprise  to  the 
day  off.  Mr.  Renn,  who,  on  account  of  the 
"sweet  little  thing"  on  the  East  Side,  had  fa 
vored  remaining  at  home  and  "workin'the  stiffs," 
was  playing  his  part  behind  the  counter  of  a  little 
booth  to  which  he  allured  the  backbone  and  intel 
ligence  of  a  great  nation  with  cries  of  "  Sixteen 
to  one,  gentlemen,  sixteen  gold  plunks  for  one — 
if  you  choose  the  right  color.  It's  a  mere  char 
ity  I'm  offerin'  you,  jus'  to  advertise  the  clown  in 
the  show.  Sixteen  to  one — beats  Bryan  hol 
low  :  step  up,  gentlemen,  an'  try  your  luck — six 
teen  to  one !  "  The  "  sweet  little  thing  "  on 
Second  avenue  would  never  have  recognized  her 
beloved  "  Shorty  "  in  the  earnest  exhorter  be 
seeching  the  crowd  to  "  take  a  spin  on  his  wheel," 
which  was  the  wheel  of  fortune.  There  was  a 
fervor  in  his  speech,  and  an  intense  look  in  his 
face,  that,  it  is  to  be  feared,  the  "  sweet  little 
thing  "  had  never  been  favored  with.  The  Un 
der  World  makes  love  more  or  less  as  does 
the  Upper  World ;  like  the  Upper  World  also  it 

76 


The  Revenge  of  the  Four 

becomes  really  in  earnest  when  it  makes  money. 

"  Dodd  gast  that  squirt  of  a  wheel,  anyhow ! 
Soy,  you,  behind  there,  when  am  I  goin'  to  win? 
You  got  five  o'  my  dollars,  an'  I  ain't  won 
onc't."  The  words  were  deceiving  and  unnat 
ural,  but  Mr.  Eady's  voice  was  the  same  in  Ohio 
as  in  the  "  Slide."  He  was  a  better  "  tool  "  than 
"  stall,"  as  the  Upper  World  knew  to  its  sorrow, 
but  "  tools "  have  no  function  in  sure-thing 
games,  and  he  was  doing  his  best  to  make  the 
people  "  bite." 

"  Roll  'er  again.  I'll  chance  another ;  make  or 
break ;  win  or  bust.  The  old  woman  '11  dress  me 
down,  but  shucks! — hard  words  don't  lower  the 
price  o'  eggs." 

The  wheel  began  to  slacken  its  pace  for  the 
sixth  time;  the  little  pea  lingered  exasperatingly 
near  the  blanks ;  Mr.  Renn  made  a  slight  move 
ment  with  his  foot ;  the  pea  moved  slowly  toward 
the  winning  colors.  The  wheel  stopped. 

"  Here's  your  money,  sir.  See  if  it's  right  be 
fore  you  leave:  ten  fives  an'  three  tens.  Make 
room  for  the  rest.  Sixteen  to  one,  gentlemen — 
if  you  choose  the  right  colors.  A  mere  charity 
I'm  off erin'  you,  jus'  to  advertise  the  show ;  step 
up,  gentlemen,  don't  let  the  grass  grow  on  your 

77 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

luck.  Circus  day  comes  but  once  a  year.  Don't 
push  there.  Take  your  time.  Time's  only 
thing  cheaper  'n  circus  lemonade.  The  big  tent 
don't  open  for  an  hour  yet.  Easy  there,  I  tell 
you!  You  two  fellows  in  front  stop  your 
shovin'." 

Mr.  Burras  and  Mr.  Frood  were  leading  the  in 
nocents  to  the  slaughter.  The  innocents  could 
hardly  wait  to  be  led ;  they  jostled  Mr.  Eady  aside 
before  he  could  count  his  winnings,  and  fortune's 
wheel  had  made  a  number  of  turns  by  the  time  he 
broke  through  the  surging  mob  and  made  his 
way  to  the  rear  to  spur  on  those  who  still  held 
back.  It  was  "  a  hot  time  "  such  as  the  four 
celebrities  had  prayed  for.  "  The  hoosier  pineth 
for  eddication,"  Mr.  Eady  said,  and  the  hoosier 
got  it.  The  three  "  stalls  "  had  to  turn  police 
men  and  keep  the  crowd  back,  it  was  so  eager  to 
learn  by  experience.  Dollars,  in  silver  and  pa 
per,  were  thrust  into  Mr.  Renn's  hands  with  a 
rapidity  which  at  times  came  very  near  making 
him  forget  to  halt  the  fortunate  pea  at  the  losing 
colors.  There  was  grumbling  among  the  losers, 
but  fatuity  is  infinite  and  inexhaustible  in  the 
ranks  behind  the  first,  and  people  in  the  rear  el 
bowed  those  in  front  of  them  aside  in  their  haste 

78 


The  Revenge  of  the  Four 

to  benefit  the  eloquent  Renn.  Sixteen  in  ex 
change  for  one!  and  every  man  convinced  be 
forehand  of  his  natural  and  inalienable  luck! 
Cornville  did  not  come  to  its  senses  till  a  few 
minutes  before  the  entertainment  in  the  big  tent 
began. 

Then  there  were  remarks  more  militant  than 
consoling.  "  Mob  'em !  "  cried  one  indignant 
citizen  who  had  sowed  dollars  and  reaped  wis 
dom  and  scorned  it.  The  life  of  a  celebrity  is 
hard.  There  were  even  numbers  of  the  crowd 
who  suggested  tar  and  feathers.  But  they  reck 
oned  without  the  Powers  That  Rule.  "  Clear 
the  way  here/'  commanded  the  chief  of  police  at 
the  head  of  an  imposing  squad  sworn  in  for  the 
day.  "  No  crowding."  Also  the  chief  received 
ten  per  cent,  of  the  net  proceeds. 

"  But,  Chief,  we've  been  done,"  protested  a 
bucolic  chorus. 

"  Get  out,  you  milk-skins ;  go  in  an'  see  the 
show ! "  and  the  chief  whisked  them  aside. 

"  But,  Shief,"  screamed  a  little  German,  "  I 
vant  mein  money  back.  I  loose  two  dollar. 
Dose  fellows  is  slickers,  I  vant  to  tell  you." 

"  Choke  it  off,  Dutchy,  you're  excited.  Take 
a  run  around  the  ring  with  the  baby  elephant." 

79 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

"  Bei  Gott,  I  vill  do  noddings  of  de  kint.  I  go 
straight  to  de  mayor.  Vill  some  off  you  beeples 
go  mit  me?  " 

The  entertainment  had  begun,  and  the  "  bee- 
pies  "  were  there  to  see  it,  but  ten,  who  had  lost 
heavily,  agreed  to  accompany  the  German  to  the 
mayor's  office.  They  were  not  influential  or 
prominent,  but  the  majority  of  them  were  voters, 
and  the  mayor  was  amenable  to  reason  when 
reason  took  the  form  of  applied  mathematics. 

"  Do  you  mean  to  say  that  they  are  running 
skin  games — gambling — on  the  show  grounds?  " 
asked  the  initiated  mayor. 

"  Bei  Gott,  dat's  vat  I  tell  you.  Von  man,  he 
tell  me  I  get  seventy  dollar  for  two.  Dot  is  a  lie. 
Alzo  I  loose  mein  two  dollar.  Ven  beeples 
loose  money,  dat  is  gampling! — in  Chermanny, 
in  Amerika,  bei  Gott !  eferywhere." 

"  Gentlemen,  you  surprise  me ;  I  will  see  that 
those  games  are  stopped  immediately.  I  am 
glad  you  called  my  attention  to  the  matter.  I 
have  to  thank  you  in  the  name  of  the  city  of  Corn- 
ville.  Good  afternoon,  gentlemen;  it  is  upon 
such  public-spirited  citizens  as  you  that  every  of 
ficial  who  is  interested  in  good  government  must 

depend!"          

80 


The  Revenge  of  the  Four 

The  afternoon  entertainment  of  the  "  Great 
and  Only"  was  drawing  to  its  close.  The  chariots 
were  tearing  around  the  big  ring  on  the  last  lap ; 
the  spectators  were  getting  ready  to  leave,  and 
the  performers  for  the  "  concert "  after  the 
"  show  "  were  peeking  through  the  curtains  of 
their  dressing-rooms  to  see  how  many  had  been 
persuaded  to  wait  for  them  to  do  their  "  stunt." 
The  four  celebrities  and  the  gentleman  in  the  full- 
jeweled  regimentals  of  a  sport — the  "  special  of 
ficer  "  of  the  "  Great  and  Only  " — were  in  solemn 
conclave  just  outside  the  main  entrance. 

"  The  chief  says  the  mayor  has  ordered  the 
games  shut  clown,"  said  the  special  officer. 
"  Told  me  to  tell  you't  he'd  have  to  make  a  pinch 
if  you  give  the  wheel  another  turn.  It's  all  off." 

"  But  we  ain't  even  got  our  fixin'  money  back 
yet,"  objected  Mr.  Burras.  "We'll  be 
losers  if  we  have  to  quit  now."  He  threw  an  ac 
cent  of  really  moral  indignation  into  the  word 
losers. 

"  Losers  in  a  pig's  eye ! "  exclaimed  Mr. 
Frood.  "  If  you'll  stand  for  the  dip  " — and  he 
gave  the  special  officer  a  dig  in  the  ribs  with  his 
thumb — "  we'll  get  our  dough  back  ten  times 
over.  How  much  commission  have  you  got  to 
have?  " 

8l 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

"  Seein'  how  things  is  runnin',  I  can't  risk  it 
under  twenty-five  per  cent." 

"  Will  you  square  the  hollers?  " 
"  If  they  don't  holler  too  loud." 
"Done!" 

It  was  the  crowd  that  was  "  done."  Mr.  Eady 
graciously  consented  to  resume  his  old  role  of 
"  tool,"  and  the  other  three  hummed  the  tune  of 
the  pickpocket's  song : 

"  Oh,  we  are  three  statts^ 
Three  jolly  old  stalls, 
We  live  like  royal  Turks ; 
We're  on  the  dip  to  win  our  chuck — 
To  hell  with  the  man  that  works !  " 
The  band  began  to  play,  the  flap  of  the  main  en 
trance  to  the  big  tent  was    thrown    open,    the 
crowd  rushed  out,  and  the  four  celebrities  started 
"  to  do  business." 

So  long  as  Cornville  lasts  and  reminiscences 
are  permissible  the  story  of  the  business  that  the 
four  did  will  be  told  and  retold.  It  was  a  re 
venge  which  has  become  classic  even  in  blase 
gun  circles.  As  Mr.  Frood  graphically  put  it, 
"  The  crowd  was  simply  ripped  open."  When 
it  had  dispersed,  and  men  went  over  the  grounds 
to  clean  up  for  the  rush  and  departure  of  the 

82 


The  Revenge  of  the  Four 

evening,  the  "  weeded  leathers  "  filled  to  over 
flowing  a  bushel  basket.  The  Cornville  public 
prints  of  the  next  day's  issue  estimated  that  three 
thousand  dollars  changed  hands  during  the  short 
space  of  time  that  the  four  were  active.  There 
was  "beefing"  galore,  but  the  " Great  and  Only" 
folded  its  tents  and  stole  away  in  the  night,  and 
the  special  officer  squared  no  "  hollers." 

The  life  in  the  "  Slide  "  was  at  its  height.  The 
three  "  darkies  "  were  strumming  their  guitars 
and  vociferating  in  chorus : 

"  I'se  got  a  little  baby,  but  she's  out  o'  sight— 
I  talk  to  her  across  the  telephone ; 

I'se  never  seen  ma  honey,  but  she's  mine  all 

right, 
So  take  ma  tip  an'  leave  dis  gal  alone."     .. 

The  room  was  full  of  smoke,  the  patrolman  of 
the  "  beat  "  was  getting  his  "  eye-opener  "  at  the 
back  door,  and  the  Salvation  Army  lassie  in  full 
uniform  was  ostentatiously  vending  her  tracts. 
The  four  celebrities  sat  at  their  favorite  table, 
drinking  champagne.  There  had  been  toasts  to 
Cornville,  to  Mayor  Hochheimer,  to  the  "  Great 
and  Only,"  and  to  the  Crowd,  and  Mr.  Frood 
rose  to  reply  to  "  Ohio." 

83 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

"The   dear  old   State  "—and  he   struck   the 
Fourth  of  July  orator's  attitude — "  may  she  keep 
her  junctions  open,  cherish  her  fixers,  never  go 
back  on  guns,  an'  breed  a  fresh  crop  o'  suckers 
every  year ! — Drink  it  down !  " 
Chorus:  "Drink  it  down!" 
And  the  three  "  darkies,"  under  the  inspiration 
of  fate,  which  does  things  handsomely,  struck  into 
the  chorus : 
"  Get  your  money's  worth,  I've  had  ma  gin  an' 

feel  mighty  glad, 
Get  your  money's  worth,  an'    have    a    good 

time,  but  don'  get  bad, 
Get  your  money's  worth,  dance  yourself  clean 

off  the  earth, 
If  you  want  to  have  fun 
Bring  your  razor  an'  your  gun 
An'  get  your  money's  worth !  " 


84 


THE  ORDER  OF  THE  PENITENTS 
I. 

A  system  of  biology  which  proclaimed  the  flea 
a  part  of  the  monkey  he  lives  upon  would  be  re 
garded  as  at  the  least  paradoxical.  A  company 
of  gifted  monkeys,  competent  to  take  a  university 
degree  and  to  misunderstand  the  doctrine  of  the 
origin  of  species,  might  possibly  conceive  the  no 
tion  of  isolating  their  parasites  and  maintaining 
them  for  a  time  in  safety  and  comfort,  in  the  hope 
that  they  would  turn  into  monkeys  themselves; 
but  the  notion  and  the  gifted  monkeys  that  con 
ceived  it  would  be  ridiculous.  At  least  that  is  the 
judgment  of  the  scribes'  common  friend,  the  il 
lustrious  Minick.  He  goes  so  far,  indeed,  as  to 
apply  the  analogy  to  a  kindred  science  and  to  act 
upon  his  convictions,  which  is  certainly  to  be 
reprehended.  As  near  as  can  be  gathered  across 
his  reiterated  "  you-see-blokes  "  and  "  savvy  " 
and  "  you-hear-me's,"  his  idea  seems  to  be  that 
in  every  considerable  company  of  men  there  are 

85 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

two  organized  societies,  the  society  of  the  pro 
fessional  business  man,  and  the  society  of  the  pro 
fessional  "  crook,"  and  that  the  latter  society  is 
literally  a  parasite  upon  the  former.  The  point 
is  that  he  regards  the  current  theory  of  the  peni 
tentiary  as  a  joke,  and  thinks  any  hesitation  on 
the  part  of  a  member  of  the  society  of  profession 
al  business  men  to  take  advantage  of  a  profession 
al  crook  as  ridiculous  as  a  hesitation  on  the  part  of 
an  enlightened  monkey  to  dine  off  his  flea.  The 
scribes,  the  illustrious  Minick's  common  friends, 
do  not  go  the  length  of  approving  his  idea ;  far 
less  do  they  think  his  idea  can  be  made  to  justify 
his  practice.  They  are  scrupulously  careful  to 
hold  no  opinions  that  are  not  so  nearly  like  those 
held  by  their  neighbors  that  they  may  avoid  scan 
dal  ;  but  they  permit  themselves  to  record  (and  to 
condemn !)  the  opinions  of  the  illustrious  Minick. 
This  is  the  preface;  what  follows  is  the  story. 
The  result  of  the  events  narrated  in  it  is,  that  Mrs. 
Minick,  sometime  Miss  Sadie  Meeker,  declares 
in  confidence  that  her  next  friends  during  her 
maidenhood,  Margie  Payne,  who  married  a  sa 
loon-keeper,  and  Kittie  Barwin,  who  married  a 
part-owner  in  a  dance-hall,  are  become  dreadfully 
"common."  That  is  not  the  word  she  used: 
86 


The  Order  of  the  Penitents 

what  she  said  was  that  Margie  always  was  a 
"  slob  "  and  that  she  (Sadie)  had  "  done  every 
thing  "  for  Kittle  until  she  was  just  sick  of  it;  but 
the  meaning  is  the  same.  The  Under  World 
does  not  use  the  same  idiom,  but  it  manages  to 
express  the  same  meaning  as  the  Upper.  The 
illustrious  Minick  had  money  to  invest  and  Mrs. 
Minick  was  meditating  a  residence  in  a  less  un 
fashionable  quarter  than  theretofore,  and  a  school 
for  Sadie  junior,  aged  six,  in  which  "  references  " 
were  required. 

It  is  a  matter  of  course  that  Mrs.  Minick  was 
the  efficient  cause  of  her  man's  prosperity.  It  is 
the  theory  in  the  United  States  that  every  good 
woman  is  at  least  that,  and  the  scribes,  who  are 
scrupulously  careful  to  avoid  scandal,  profess  un 
bounded  belief  in  that  theory.  Mrs.  Minick 
"  learnt "  her  man  the  virtues  of  diligence  and 
self-denial ;  she  put  the  screws  on ;  in  his  own  col 
loquialism,  she  made  him  "  hustle  for  the  dust." 

The  reasons  why  he  should  hustle  were  ex 
plained  to  him  by  Sadie  with  a  clearness  and  de 
termination  to  carry  her  point  that  gave  Minick 
no  alternative  except  to  do  as  he  was  told.  Min- 
ick's  chief  could  not  have  been  any  more  explicit 
in  giving  him  a  professional  "  steer." 

7  8? 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

"  I  want  that  apartment  up  in  Harlem,  and  I 
want  it  furnished  the  way  I  told  you,"  declared 
Sadie.  "  We've  been  married  over  six  years, 
and  I've  got  tired  of  hearing  what  we're  going  to 
do  when  you've  got  your  pile.  You've  got  a 
big  enough  pile  now  to  get  out  of  this  floor  where 
we've  lived  ever  since  our  wedding-day.  I  want 
you  to  save  money  as  much  as  you  do  yourself, 
but  we're  not  paupers,  and  I'm  not  going  to  live 
like  one,  and  I'm  not  going  to  have  Sadie  grow 
up  in  a  district  like  this.  You  know  as  well  as 
I  do  that  people  who  entertain  a  little  and  try  to 
make  an  impression  get  on  a  great  deal  better 
than  people  who  live  all  their  lives  in  holes  like 
this.  Kit  and  Marge  '11  never  amount  to  any 
thing  'cause  they  don't  learn  their  husbands  any 
style.  It's  style  that  goes  in  this  town,  and 
we've  got  to  get  a  move  on.  You  let  lots  o' 
chances  to  make  scale  go  by.  Only  day  before 
yesterday  Curry  from  the  Front  Office  was  telling 
me  that  if  he  had  your  '  front,'  as  he  called  it,  he'd 
be  living  near  the  Park  in  two  years.  Now,  I 
want  to  live  near  the  Park,  and  I  want  you  to  fix 
things  so  I  can.  You  want  to  remember  another 
thing  too,  Charley.  If  ever  we  do  get  on  our 
feet  properly,  I  want  you  to  stop  bringing  those 

88 


The  Order  of  the  Penitents 

detectives  up  to  the  house.  When  Curry  was  here 
the  other  day,  that  lady  that  we  got  acquainted 
with  at  Asbury  Park  called,  and  the  thing  didn't 
go  right  at  all.  We  can't  mix  up  your  business 
with  my  social  acquaintances,  and  you  want  to 
remember  it  when  we  get  up  in  Harlem." 

"  I  notice  you  don't  object  to  spendin'  the 
money  that  my  business  brings  in,"  Minick  re 
torted  not  unsuccessfully. 

"  After  the  money  is  in  my  purse  it's  my  affair 
where  it  comes  from,"  continued  Sadie  with  in 
creased  earnestness.  "  I  ain't  ashamed  of  being 
your  wife,  and  I  don't  care  who  knows  that  you're 
a  detective.  But  I  don't  propose  to  have  the 
whole  Front  Office  in  my  parlor  when  lady 
friends  are  calling  on  me.  And  if  you'd  only 
hustle  a  little  harder,  it  wouldn't  be  long  before 
you  could  quit  the  business.  If  you  spent  half 
the  time  in  making  money  that  I  spend  in  hoping 
that  you  will  make  it,  we'd  be  living  near  the 
Park  in  five  years." 

"  Ain't  I  square  with  my  money?  "  asked  Min 
ick.  "  Don't  I  divvy  with  you  on  the  level?  " 

"  I  ain't  complaining  about  what  you  do  with 
the  money  you  got ;  I'm  simply  telling  you  that 
we  got  to  get  more." 

89 


The   Powers  That  Prey 

"  How  much  more  do  we  need?  " 

"  All  we  can  get." 

There  could  be  no  doubt  about  this  formula; 
therefore  the  illustrious  Minick  refused  himself  al 
most  altogether  the  happiness  of  Sadie's  compan 
ionship  ;  the  greatest  token  of  affection  a  man  can 
give  a  woman  after  marriage  (not  before!),  be 
ing  to  see  as  little  of  her  as  possible  and  to  hustle 
for  the  dust.  The  hours  which,  during  the  pe 
riod  of  courtship,  he  had  spent  in  "  jollying  "  her 
and  in  "  floating  round  "  with  her,  which  are  the 
two  main  categories  of  Under- World  philander 
ing,  he  devoted  at  present  to  increasing  the 
"  scale  "  of  his  job  and  to  becoming  "  wise."  The 
latter  is  a  most  exacting  occupation  and  consists 
in  nothing  less  than  in  getting  and  in  keeping  in 
touch  with  everything  in  the  Under  World.  The 
pursuit  of  it  brought  Minick  into  companionship 
to  which  the  fastidious  Sadie,  ambitious  of  Har 
lem,  conceived  a  growing  distaste,  notably  into 
the  companionship  of  Gerald  Noaker,  Esq.,  mis 
called  "  Jerry,"  official  warden  of  a  place  of  retire 
ment  which  was  very  "  wise  "  indeed,  and  of  one 
Timlin  and  one  Gulp,  official  keepers  in  the  name 
less  place  of  retirement,  and  of  Thomas  Burpee, 
Esq.,  and  William  Marts,  Esq.,  two  great  per- 

90 


The  Order  of  the  Penitents 

sonages,  who  must  have  preferred  striped  clothes 
because  they  wore  them,  and  of  whom  Timlin  and 
Gulp  and  even  the  great  Noaker  spoke  in  accents 
of  reverence.  Incidentally,  Minick  had  been  able, 
by  his  intervention  with  the  warden,  to  do  each 
of  the  great  personages  a  favor :  Burpee  he  had  se 
cured  the  much-envied  privilege  of  a  place  in  the 
pavilion  for  the  insane,  where  the  restrictions 
upon  the  penitents  were  less  severe  than  in  the 
shops;  Marts  he  had  got  transferred  from  the 
smithy,  where  the  labor  is  hard,  to  the  feather- 
picking  department,  where  the  labor  is  non-exist 
ent,  and  had  procured  him  a  doctor's  certificate 
which  entitled  him  to  delicacies  of  a  sort  at  table. 
These  things  he  did  for  a  consideration  in  current 
Treasury  notes;  but  a  favor  is  a  favor  in  the 
House  of  the  Penitents,  and  Burpee  and  Marts, 
as  became  great  personages,  were  grateful. 

Incidentally  too,  the  illustrious  Minick  was  a 
special  detective  in  the  cab  case  of  the  A.  A.  &  B. 
Railway.  He  made  no  progress  in  the  case  for 
some  time,  except  in  the  matter  of  lengthening 
the  expense  account  which  the  railway  officials 
subsequently  audited  and  allowed.  He  and  Mrs. 
Minick  took  a  little  jaunt  to  Atlantic  City,  where 
they  stayed  a  week  till  the  "hot wave"  passed  and 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

till  Margie  and  Kittie  became  spiteful  with  envy. 
The  railway  officials  did  not  see  the  expenses  of 
that  trip  in  the  account  which  they  audited,  but 
they  were  there.  The  railway  officials  were  too 
much  concerned  about  bringing  the  guilty  parties 
to  justice  to  show  themselves  difficult  about  de 
tails.  The  facts  of  the  case  as  they  appeared  in 
the  public  prints  at  the  time  are  these : 

Harold  Diprose,  paymaster  of  the  A.  A.  &  B., 
was  accustomed  the  first  of  every  month  to  draw 
a  considerable  sum  in  the  private  office  of  Ab- 
badie  &  Co.,  Bankers  and  Brokers,  which  he  took 
up  the  line  to  be  distributed  on  the  different  di 
visions.  He  was  usually  accompanied  by  one 
John  Bladen,  miscellaneous  athlete  and  special 
officer  not  in  uniform,  by  way  of  bodyguard.  The 
evening  before  the  robbery  occurred,  John  Bla 
den  fell  into  a  conversation  with  two  men  of 
whom  he  could  afterward  give  no  description 
whatever,  except  that  they  had  ill-kept  sandy 
beards  and  rough,  discolored  hands,  and  were 
dressed  in  soft  hats  and  untidy,  loose-fitting 
clothes,  considerably  the  worse  for  wear. 

The  next  morning  John  Bladen  was  unable  to 
present  himself  at  the  offices  of  the  A.  A.  &  B., 
and  he  stated  later  that  he  must  have  been  given 

92 


The  Order  of  the  Penitents 

"  peter-drops,"  but  in  support  of  this  statement 
he  could  give  the  officials  of  the  A.  A.  &  B.  noth 
ing  whatever  but  his  word. 

When  Harold  Diprose  left  the  side  door  of 
Abbadie  &  Co.,  Bankers  and  Brokers,  that  after 
noon,  he  was  so  violently  jostled  by  two  stylishly 
dressed  young  men  hastening  toward  a  cab  which 
stood  in  waiting  for  them,  that  he  lost  his  hold  for 
a  moment  on  the  small  valise  in  which  he  carried 
his  bank-notes.  Both  young  men  apologized 
profusely  and  one  of  them,  whose  high  hat  had 
toppled  off  in  the  encounter,  stooped  to  pick  it 
up,  and  offered  also  to  hand  Diprose  his  valise, 
of  which,  however,  Diprose  himself  hastened  to 
gain  possession. 

"  I  trust  you  are  not  hurt — very  awkward  in 
me  I  am  sure,"  said  one  of  the  young  men,  solici 
tously  lingering. 

"  Not  at  all,"  said  Diprose. 

"  We  were  rushing  to  keep  a  date,  but  we  did 
intend  to  take  time  to  look  where  we  were  going," 
said  the  other  young  man,  bareheaded  while  he 
smoothed  the  nap  of  his  hat  with  his  coat-sleeve. 

"  I  ought  to  have  looked  where  I  was  going 
myself — as  much  my  fault  as  yours,"  said  Dip- 
rose  cordially.  "  If  you  stay  to  explain  you  will 
miss  your  date." 

93 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

"  Good  afternoon,"  said  the  young  men  to 
gether,  and  entered  the  cab. 

"  Good  morning,"  said  Diprose,  and  made  his 
way  to  the  offices  of  the  A.  A.  &  B.,  where  he  dis 
covered  that  the  small  valise  he  held  in  his  hands 
was  not  the  same,  except  to  the  eye,  as  the  small 
valise  he  had  dropped  on  the  pavement,  and  that 
the  contents  thereof  were  not  the  same,  nor  of 
equal  value;  and  all  of  any  consequence  that  he 
could  remember  of  the  two  young  men  was  that 
they  both  had  sandy  beards  neatly  trimmed  and 
hands  neatly  gloved. 

Therefore  the  illustrious  Minick  arrested  John 
Bladen  and  let  him  go  again,  and  arrested  a  cab 
man  and  let  him  go  again,  and  the  higher  officials 
of  the  A.  A.  &  B.  employed  friends  and  confi 
dants  of  the  illustrious  Minick  to  keep  Harold 
Diprose  constantly  in  sight. 


94 


II. 

Two  days  after  the  adventure  of  Harold  Dip- 
rose  and  the  magic  hand-bag,  there  was  ar 
rested  in  the  streets  of  a  city,  which  a  courtesy 
toward,  and  even  a  regard  for  the  safety  of,  their 
friends  (and  themselves!)  inclines  the  scribes  to 
keep  concealed,  a  clean-shaven,  stylishly  apparel 
ed,  young  man,  known  to  the  profession  as  Milly 
Matches,  No.  20,547.  His  nom  de  guerre  he  had 
acquired  in  the  years  when  he  was  learning  his 
trade :  he  had  disguised  himself  as  a  girl  in  the 
time  of  his  slim,  beardless  youth  and  had  sold 
matches  on  the  streets  and  done  other  things  less 
permissible.  It  was  because  of  the  other  things 
that  the  number  had  been  added  to  his  name.  He 
was  committed  for  the  moment  to  a  local  house 
of  repose,  and  ultimately  after  certain  tedious 
ceremonies  to  the  refuge  of  the  Order  of  the 
Penitents,  of  which  the  great  Noaker  was  the  of 
ficial  warden.  The  particular  events  which  had 
led  to  his  joining  the  Order  of  the  Penitents  had 
occurred  some  ten  days  before  the  adventure  of 

95 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

Harold  Diprose  and  the  magic  hand-bag.  Milly 
Matches  had  strolled  into  the  main  entrance  of 
one  of  the  principal  theaters  in  the  nameless  city 
at  a  time  between  the  second  and  third  acts  of  the 
play,  when  the  corridor  was  not  occupied.  He 
had  presented  his  basket  and  a  revolver  at  the 
ticket  office  and  requested  the  man  in  evening 
dress  behind  the  trellis  to  "  shell  out."  The  man 
afterward  explained  that  he  had  thought  of  dodg 
ing  and  taking  his  chances,  but  he  had  a  family 
and  didn't  have  his  life  insured.  Neither  did  he 
dodge;  he  shelled  out. 

"  Good  evenin'  to  you ;  it's  a  large,  fine  even- 
in',"  said  Milly  Matches,  and  "  mooched  " ;  find 
ing  by  a  fortunate  coincidence  a  horse  and  buggy 
near  the  theater  entrance  to  assist  him. 

At  the  time  when  Milly  Matches  first  joined 
the  Order  of  the  Penitents  in  the  refuge  of  which 
the  great  Noaker  was  warden,  the  great  Noaker 
was  not  fulfilling  the  duties  of  that  office  for  his 
"  health."  The  warden  of  such  a  refuge  is  com 
monly  expected  to  find  it  or  to  make  it  a  "  good 
thing  " ;  and  deeply  as  the  scribes  deplore  the 
facts,  they  are  compelled  in  justice  to  state  that 
he  had  paid  for  the  opportunity.  For  the  rest 
they  permit  themselves  to  record  certain  conver- 

96 


The  Order  of  the  Penitents 

sations  and  bits  of  narrative  which  came  to  their 
knowledge  through  their  friend,  the  illustrious 
Minick. 

Thomas  Burpee  and  William  Marts,  the  two 
great  personages  in  striped  clothes  that  Minick 
included  in  his  list  of  distinguished  acquaintances, 
were  men  whom  he  found  very  valuable  to  inter 
view  when  there  was  an  addition  to  the  Order  of 
the  Penitents.  Although  they  might  not  know 
the  newcomer  personally,  if  he  had  any  real  stand 
ing  in  Under-world  society,  they  were  pretty 
likely  to  be  able  to  tell  the  degree  of  his  distinc 
tion,  and  to  estimate  more  or  less  correctly  the 
probable  amount  of  "  fall  money  "  it  was  reason 
able  to  suppose  he  had  at  his  disposal.  In  such 
matters  the  Under  World  is  very  much  like  the 
Upper :  both  worlds  keep  "  tabs  "  on  their  celebri 
ties,  and  the  "A  Number  One  Gun,"  like  the 
millionaire,  is  classified  in  a  "  Social  Register  " 
and  a  "  Who's  Who." 

It  was  the  opinion  of  Thomas  Burpee  and  Wil 
liam  Marts,  partially  because  they  knew  the  class 
he  belonged  to,  and  partially  because  they  had 
heard  of  some  of  his  most  recent  enterprises,  that 
Milly  Matches  was  a  penitent  who  woul'd  be  glad 
to  pay  hard  cash  for  mitigations  of  discipline. 

97 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

Where  the  hard  cash  was,  they  did  not  attempt  to 
state — the  Under  World  is  somewhat  more  re 
spectful  than  the  Upper  of  a  man's  private  busi 
ness — but  that  it  would  be  forthcoming,  if  suffi 
cient  inducement  were  offered,  they  had  no  doubt 
whatever.  Therefore  Minick  made  haste  to  have 
an  interview  with  the  omnipotent  and  worldly- 
wise  Noaker. 

:'  You  mean  the  man  has  the  stuff?  "  asked 
Noaker,  after  Minick  had  told  him  of  the  reported 
financial  status  of  Milly. 

"  That's  what  Burpee  and  Marts  say." 

"  It  ain't  hardly  right  for  a  man  to  have  the 
stuff  and  not  to  learn  the  use  of  it.  Seems  irre 
ligious  like,  an'  a  kind  o'  buryin'  his  talent." 

"  Think  Hell's  Kitchen  'ud  learn  him?  "  Hell's 
Kitchen,  in  the  speech  of  people  who  do  not  know 
what  it  means  to  work  there,  is  the  foundry. 
"  There's  a  heap  o'  wisdom  in  a  backache,  if  the 
back  aches  bad  enough :  bad  enough  an'  just  a 
leetle  bit  too  bad,  so's  to  set  a  man  a-thinkin'; 
what  do  you  say  to  the  foundry?  You  must  be 
short  o'  hands  in  the  foundry." 

"  I  am  always  short  o'  hands  wherever  one  '11 
do  me  the  most  good ;  but  see  here,  Charley,  I'm 
sick  o'  driblets ;  there's  as  much  risk  in  this  busi- 


The  Order  of  the  Penitents 

ness  in  a  little  job  as  in  a  big  one,  an'  it's  goin' 
to  take  a  pile  to  get  out  o'  that  foundry  or  there's 
nothin'  doin'." 

Noaker  found,  as  he  expected,  that  he  was  short 
of  hands  in  Hell's  Kitchen,  and  to  the  kitchen 
accordingly  Milly  was  assigned.  The  work  pre 
scribed  for  him  was  of  the  fittest  sort  to  give  him 
a  backache  "  bad  enough  an'  just  a  leetle  bit  too 
bad,  so's  to  set  him  a-thinkin'." 

One  morning  early,  when  he  had  had  some 
days  in  which  to  do  his  thinking  and,  as  Noaker 
said,  "  to  get  wise  off  his  back,"  he  was  toiling 
with  a  white-hot  bar  of  iron,  when  Timlin  and 
Gulp  found  it  possible  to  stray  past  him  and  to 
linger  a  minute  at  his  side.  They  had  previously 
had  a  little  chat  with  the  astute  Minick — which 
may  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  case.  The 
scribes  know  only  that  in  Hell's  Kitchen  Timlin 
and  Gulp  in  their  ordinary  duties  had  no  business 
whatever. 

"  Kind  of  a  foretaste  of  bein'  fried  in  yer  own 
grease — ain't  it,  pard?"  Gulp  ventured. 

"  Hot's  hell  and  twic't  as  thirsty,"  said  Milly, 
pausing  a  moment  to  scrape  the  perspiration 
from  his  face  and  arms  with  the  edge  of  his  hand. 
"  Ain't  got  a  gin  fizz  in  yer  jeans?  I  was  jus' 
thinkin'  I  could  use  one." 

99 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

The  three  men  grinned,  and  a  grin  in  the  place 
-of  retirement  of  the  Order  of  Penitents  is  a  means 
of  eloquent  expression  of  more  potency  than  an 
unabridged  dictionary. 

"  Seem  rather  light  for  this  kind  o'  work," 
Timlin  dropped.  "  Did  the  deputy  see  you  be 
fore  you  were  put  here?  " 

The  question  would  have  made  a  much  less  ob 
serving  penitent  than  Milly  look  the  two 
"  screws  "  carefully  over.  They  were  not  in  the 
foundry  for  their  health ;  and  it  is  not  the  custom 
of  "  screws  "  to  make  inquiries  in  regard  to  how 
and  why  a  light  man  was  assigned  to  the  heaviest 
work  in  a  prison.  He  sized  them  up  in  the  hope 
to  read  in  their  faces  what  their  errand  was.  Tim 
lin  winked  at  him,  Gulp  also  winked. 

"  'Tain't  none  o'  my  business,  but  if  it  was  me," 
said  Gulp  to  Timlin,  "  I'd  take  the  first  chanst  I 
got  to  have  a  word  with  Minick,  an'  I'd  talk  busi 
ness  with  'im." 

"  I'd  talk  rocks,"  said  Timlin. 

"  Rocks  is  business,"  said  Gulp. 

And  both  men  passed  on. 

The  opportunity  to  have  a  word  with  Minick, 
Milly  discovered  in  the  prison  garden  one  Sun 
day  afternoon,  when  the  penitents  were  free  to  re 
ceive  their  friends. 

100 


The  Order  of  the  Penitents 

"Say,  boss,"  said  Milly,  abruptly,  "  I'm  too 
thirsty  for  de  foundry:  I  sweats  more'n  I  kin 
drink:  I'd  like  to  shift." 

"  You  are  gettin'  pretty  white  an'  thin,"  said 
Minick  critically;  "but  the  Stir  ain't  no  thorough 
fare.  /  can't  do  nothin'  for  you." 

"  You  kin  try,  I  guess." 

Minick  did  not  admit  explicitly  that  he  could 
even  try;  he  stood  mute. 

"  Come,"  urged  Milly,  "  I  ain't  in  for  no  free 
show;  I  got  the  rocks." 

"  How  d'  you  like  the  Insane  Ward?  "  asked 
Minick. 

"  Name  de  price,"  said  Milly. 

Minick  was  much  too  "  slick  "  to  name  a  price 
or  to  name  anything;  but  any  man  may  ask  a 
question ! 

"  Could  you  raise  five  hundred?  " 

"  Try  me,"  said  Milly;  "  though  five  hundred's 
stiff." 

"  Take  it  or  leave  it,"  said  Minick ;  and  there 
fell  a  silence  for  a  while. 

"  Got  to  put  up  any  looney  spiel? "  asked 
Milly. 

"  Possibly  you  had  better,"  said  Minick ;  and 
they  discussed  the  looney  spiel. 
101 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

That  evening  Milly  betrayed  oddities  of  an  as 
tonishing  kind  and  variety.  He  was  laid  off  at 
the  foundry,  and  within  a  week  it  was  noised 
abroad  that  Hell's  Kitchen  would  know  him  no 
more :  he  was  "  crippled  under  de  hat."  He  was 
confined  in  the  Insane  Ward — which  is  a  mis 
nomer. 

Thomas  Burpee,  too,  was  confined  in  the  In 
sane  Ward,  and  confidences  in  that  ward  are  as 
inevitable  as  in  the  workshops  and  dining-hall; 
the  only  difference  being  a  greater  freedom  of 
expression  allowed  to  the  penitents  who  are 
"  crippled  under  de  hat."  Garrulousness  is  the 
inalienable  right  of  the  "  bughouse  " — if  they 
have  rocks.  And  the  ease  with  which  he  had  got 
out  of  the  foundry  set  Milly  a-thinking  with  al 
most  as  great  lucidity  as  had  the  pain  in  his  back. 

"  That  bloke  Minick  straight?  "  he  asked,  one 
day,  after  he  and  Burpee  had  discovered  that  they 
were  both  only  technically  of  unsound  mind. 

"  How  d'  you  mean  straight?  " 

"  Can  he  keep  his  clapper  quiet?  " 

"  If  it's  made  interestin'  for  him,  I  guess.  He's 
got  his  mit  out  like  the  rest  of  'em." 

"  Case  o'  dough,  eh?" 

"  That's  my  experience  with  him.  He  an'  the 
warden  graft  together." 

102 


The  Order  of  the  Penitents 

"Ever  known  him  to  ditch  any  o'  the  guns 
in  here?  " 

"  Not  when  there  was  dough  to  be  made." 
"  I  guess  him  an'  me  '11  chew  the  rag." 

The  conference  took  place  in  Milly's  cell, 
where  Minick  called  on  him  according  to  instruc 
tions  delivered  by  a  "  trusty."  There  were  very 
few  prefatory  remarks.  The  general  principles 
of  both  were  known  to  each,  and  it  was  only  nec 
essary  to  discover  how  many  details  the  general 
principles  covered. 

"  See  here,  boss,  this  is  an  A  Number  One  shop 
an'  all  that,  but  confinement's  bad  for  my  health ; 
what's  the  chance  o'  makin'  a  spring?  " 

This  was  a  bold  question  for  a  penitent  to  put, 
but  innuendo  is  not  one  of  the  habits  of  the  In 
sane  Ward. 

"  How  much  coin  you  got?  " 

This  counter-question  was  not  bold:  Minick 
was  playing  with  loaded  dice ;  no  penitent's  word 
would  ever  be  accepted  in  preference  to  his. 

'  Twenty-five  thousand  plunks.  I'll  give  you 
half:  take  it  or  leave  it." 


103 


III. 


One  of  the  occupations  in  the  retreat  of  the 
Order  of  the  Penitents  is  the  making  of  shoes. 
The  time  was  when  the  workingmen  of  the  State 
in  which  the  retreat  is  situated  demanded  of  their 
representatives  at  the  State  capital  legislation  that 
would  make  it  impossible  for  the  penitents  to 
make  shoes  or  anything  else  likely  to  compete 
successfully  in  the  market  with  the  manufactures 
of  people  in  the  open,  it  being  obvious  to  any  one 
that  no  penitent  ought  to  be  permitted  to  make 
himself  useful.  ;  But  the  Insane  Ward  filled  up 
legitimately  at  such  a  rate  during  this  period  of 
enforced  idleness,  that  the  authorities  prevailed 
upon  the  legislature  to  make  a  compromise  be 
tween  its  sense  of  duty  and  its  humanity  and  to 
repeal  the  prison  labor  laws.  The  Insane  Ward, 
in  due  course,  became  more  or  less  normal  again, 
containing  only  penitents  who  were  indubitably 
not  of  unsound  mind,  and  the  order  turned  out 
shoes,  brooms,  cigars,  and  other  necessities  by 
the  beneficent  car-load. 

104 


The  Order  of  the  Penitents 

Six  months  after  Milly  Matches  had  demon 
strated  his  sagacity  by  becoming  an  inmate  of  the 
Insane  Ward,  his  mental  condition  was  inquired 
into  by  the  physician  of  the  retreat,  and  it  was  de 
cided  that  he  was  fit  once  more  to  do  his  task  in 
the  workshop.  It  was  the  physician's  opinion 
that  Milly's  trouble  had  been  merely  an  acute  at 
tack  of  melancholia,  or  hysterics,  or  an  uncertain 
third  somewhat  comprehensively  called  "  fits,"  or 
a  combination  of  all  three,  and  he  said  that  Milly 
would  in  all  probability  serve  the  rest  of  his  sen 
tence — nine  years — without  a  recurrence  of  the 
disorder.  To  the  end  that  he  might  learn  a  trade 
which  would  relieve  him  of  the  chagrin  of  being 
a  dependence  on  the  public  after  his  release,  it 
was  deemed  advisable  by  the  authorities  that  he 
be  put  to  work  in  the  shoe-shop,  the  cobbler's 
trade  being  notably  a  sedative  to  perturbed 
minds. 

Milly  had  been  in  the  shoe-shop  some  three 
weeks,  under  the  surveillance  of  the  indulgent 
Timlin  and  Gulp,  when  he  was  reminded  of  a 
trade  that  he  had  learned  in  another  retreat  of 
penitents  in  another  State.  He  began  to  study  the 
possibilities  of  a  shoe-box  as  a  temporary  place  of 
residence.  Contemplation  tempted  him  to  put  his 

105 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

ideas  into  practice,  and  he  persuaded  the  gracious 
Timlin  and  Gulp  to  employ  him  in  the  boxing 
department.  He  was  left  pretty  much  to  himself 
in  this  work,  and  was  able  to  make  experiments. 
In  about  a  week  he  was  convinced  that  with  a  lit 
tle  squeezing  a  shoe-box  carefully  constructed 
might  shield  a  man's  body  from  rain  and  storm, 
at  least  until  he  was  outside  of  the  prison  walls. 
This  conclusion  was,  in  itself,  of  no  seeming  in 
terest  to  any  one,  least  of  all  to  the  illustrious 
Minick,  but  Milly  displayed  a  lively  impatience 
to  consult  the  illustrious  Minick  in  regard  to  these 
ideas.  It  was  just  possible  that  the  physician 
had  been  wrong  and  that  Milly  was  still  crippled 
under  the  hat.  A  bit  of  the  dialogue  between 
Milly  and  Detective  Minick,  when  next  they  met, 
might  have  seemed  to  confirm  the  possibility. 

"  Can't  nail  the  top  on  myself :  I  s'pose  Timlin 
can  do  it  unless  he's  forgot  how  to  wink,"  said 
Milly. 

Why  he  was  not  as  fit  as  Timlin  to  drive  a  nail, 
and  wherein  remembering  to  wink  was  essential 
to  that  operation,  did  not  appear. 

"  Timlin  can  wink,"  said  Minick.  Possibly 
Minick  was  "  bughouse  "  too. 

"  An'  stripes  ain't  pretty   in   the   open — have 
you  thought  of  that?  "  asked  Milly. 
106 


The  Order  of  the  Penitents 

"  I've  thought  of  it." 

The  two  friends  separated. 

The  following  morning  Minick  entered  the  re 
treat  of  the  penitents  looking  somewhat  bulky, 
but  no  one  challenged  his  right  to  enter ;  he  was 
understood  to  be  getting  "  wise,"  and  the  Powers 
That  Rule  are  permitted  eccentricities  in  dress  as 
well  as  in  manner,  when  "  wisdom  "  is  the  thing 
sought  after.  The  season  was  not  cold,  but  be 
fore  leaving  his  lodgings  to  visit  Milly  it  stands 
recorded  that  he  dressed  himself  in  two  complete 
suits  of  clothes.  A  half-hour  after  his  departure 
from  the  prison  there  was  consternation  among 

the  employees  at  the  freight-house  of  the 

Railroad.  Certain  shoe-boxes  from  the  penitentiary 
had  been  delivered,  the  teams  had  driven  away, 
the  workmen  were  about  to  load  the  boxes  into 
the  cars,  when  a  crash  of  splintered  wood  was 
heard,  and  Milly  Matches  made  an  appearance 
from  nowhere.  The  workmen  were  too  dum- 
founded  to  do  anything  but  stand  with  open 
mouths  and  stare,  and  Milly  walked  uncon 
cernedly  into  the  railway  yards  and  was  lost  in 
the  multitude  of  cars  by  the  time  the  freight-hands 
realized  that  an  escaped  penitent  had  been  among 
them.  Had  they  watched  closely  they  might 
107 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

have  noticed  the  illustrious  Minick  also  in  the 
neighborhood,  keeping  the  man  from  nowhere 
carefully  in  sight.  What  they  could  not  have 
seen  unless  they  had  given  quick  pursuit  was 
both  men  entering  a  cab  together  and  driving 
rapidly  away.  For  the  first  ten  minutes  the  cabby 
seemed  perfectly  to  know  where  he  was  going. 
Later  he  received  directions  from  Milly  and  drew 
rein  at  last  at  the  edge  of  a  wood,  where  both  men 
alighted.  When  he  had  been  dismissed  Milly 
led  the  way  to  a  bit  of  a  lake  by  which  there  stood 
and  stands  an  abandoned  ice-house. 

"  Hustle  now,  Milly,"  said  Minick,  "  I  want 
the  thing  over  before  the  Stir  people  are  after 
you." 

They  broke  open  the  door.  Milly  was  tak 
ing  desperate  chances:  he  was  still  perfectly  in 
Minick's  power,  and  the  instant  he  led  the  way  to 
the  hiding-place  of  his  treasure  he  had  played  his 
last  card.  But  even  in  the  Under  World  the  life 
of  business  is  faith.  Some  one  Milly  was  obliged 
to  trust,  and  he  preferred  to  trust  Minick,  who 
was,  after  all,  an  accomplice.  The  room  was 
little  and  dim,  and  full  of  the  smell  of  the  dank 
sawdust  and  decayed  wood  that  lay  deep  and  soft 
underfoot.  Milly  went  straight  to  one  corner, 
where  he  kneeled  and  dug  in  the  sawdust  with  his 
108 


The  Order  of  the  Penitents 

hands.  At  the  end  of  a  minute  he  lifted  out  a 
tin  box  wrapped  in  oilcloth,  opened  it,  and  dis 
played  it  full  of  packages  of  bank-notes.  As  he 
did  so,  Minick  stooped  swiftly  and  snapped  a  pair 
of  handcuffs  upon  his  wrists  and  drew  a  revolver. 

"  It's  all  off,  Milly ;  you're  the  bloke  that  pulled 
off  that  A.  A.  &  B.  touch.  If  you'd  had  that 
dough  you'd  never  'a'  touched  the  theayter,  and 
between  the  time  of  that  get-away  and  the  A.  A. 
&  B.  get-away  there  wasn't  anywhere  else  a  graft 
o'  this  size.  I'll  be  on  the  level  with  you :  there's 
bills  in  them  packages  can  be  identified :  I've  got 
you  dead.  But  I'll  give  you  a  chanst.  There's 
a  lot  bigger  stake  in  this  for  me  than  your  twelve 
thousand :  I  want  the  name  of  your  pal ;  an'  you 
can  lay  to  it  I'm  goin'  to  have  it.  Out  with  it ; 
who  was  he?  It's  your  one  chanst:  take  it  or 
leave  it :  and  be  quick  about  it." 

Milly' s  face  was  not  good  to  look  upon;  but 
neither  was  Minick's. 

"You're  puttin'  up  a  damn  big  bluff;  you 
don't  know  what  I'd  touch  an'  what  I  wouldn't, 
nor  where  I  got  my  pile/' 

"  If  the  bills  can't  be  identified  and  the  fellow 
you  touched — Diprose — won't  swear  to  your 
mug,  I'm  ditched.  I  gamble  I'm  not.  You  can 
take  it  or  leave  it." 

109 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

"  Will  you  let  me  mooch  if  I  tell  you,  with  my 
half  of  the  stuff?  " 

"Sure!" 

"  Shorty  Hoolan." 

"  Thanks,"  said  Minick;  "  you're  easy.  Now 
we'll  go  back  to  the  Pen.  Steady  there,  you 
idiot." 

Milly  had  given  an  inarticulate  cry  of  rage 
and  made  a  break  for  the  door.  Minick  caught 
him  and  beat  him  into  a  sitting  posture  with  the 
butt  of  his  revolver — once — twice — about  the 
head. 

The  bills  were  identified  and  Harold  Diprose 
did  swear  to  Milly's  mug.  Shorty  Hoolan  was 
taken  into  custody  some  weeks  later;  and  once 
more  the  public  prints  pronounced  Detective 
Minick  a  second  Old  Sleuth  and  Sherlock 
Holmes.  What  was  of  more  consequence  both 
to  Detective  Minick  and  really  to  the  future  exe 
cution  of  the  law,  there  was  a  thrill  of  pride  and 
pleasure  in  the  bosom  of  Mistress  Sadie,  who,  by 
the  way,  received  in  the  public  prints  no  credit 
whatever. 

"  I  told  you  what  you  could  do  if  you'd  only 
hustle  for  the  dust,"  she  said :  "  please,  Mr.  Old 
Sleuth — hustle  some  more !  " 
no 


THE  PRISON  DEMON. 
I. 

Until  comparatively  recent  years  the  official 
Vergil  who  conducts  visitors  through  the  great 

Penitentiary  was  wont  to  call  attention 

to  a  wooden  door  in  the  basement  of  one  of  the 
prison  buildings.  It  was  his  sacramental  cus 
tom  to  wait  until  the  visitors  were  very  close  to 
the  door  before  explaining  to  what  inferno  it  led. 
When  the  eyes  of  every  one  were  directed  to  the 
padlock  by  which  the  door  was  secured,  he  would 
say,  in  a  voice  charged  with  mystery :  "  On  the 
other  side  of  that  door,  ladies  and  gentlemen, 
lives  Harvey  Jeliffe,  the  Prison  Demon."  And 
having  paused  to  allow  his  words  their  full  ef 
fect,  he  passed  gravely  on  and  artistically  height 
ened  the  curiosity  which  he  had  aroused  by  de 
clining  to  satisfy  it.  "  We  will  now  pass,"  he 
said,  "  into  the  laundry  department." 

It  sometimes  happened  that  one  of  the  Powers 
That  Rule  arrived  at  the  penitentiary,  and  ex- 
iii 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

pressed  a  wish  to  see  the  inferno  in  all  its  de 
tails.  Again  the  official  Vergil  led  the  way  to 
the  wooden  door,  but  with  a  marked  difference 
of  manner.  He  had  received  very  definite  in 
structions  to  show  the  "  gentleman  "  everything. 
Arrived  at  the  door,  he  said  nothing  about  the 
Prison  Demon ;  he  said  simply :  "  Would  you 
like  to  see  him? "  An  affirmative  answer 
caused  to  be  unlocked  a  series  of  doors  which, 
when  opened,  partially  revealed,  still  behind  bars, 
one  of  the  celebrities  of  the  Powers  That  Prey. 

The  celebrity's  willingness  to  talk  depended 
wholly  on  the  mood  he  happened  to  be  in.  The 
most  successful  ruse  to  betray  him  into  conver 
sation  was  for  the  guard  to  say :  "  Harvey,  here's 
a  friend  from  Catamaran  county."  Unless  busied 
with  a  "  turn  "  at  his  calisthenics  or  fretted  about 
the  darkness  of  the  day  having  diminished  the 
light  in  his  cell,  which  was  never  sufficiently  pene 
trating  to  allow  a  spectator  to  see  more  than  the 
bare  outlines  of  the  man  when  he  sat  on  his  bed, 
he  generally  took  advantage  of  the  invitation  to 
show  himself,  and  walked  over  to  the  visitors'  side 
of  his  dungeon. 

"  From  Catamaran  county,  are  you? "  he 
would  ask.  "  Well,  that's  a  damn  sight  better 

112 


The  Prison  Demon 

county  'n  this.  I  ain't  kickin'  though.  All 
they  can  do  to  me  is  coop  me  up  an'  I  can  stand 
on  me  head  'f  I  like.  They  don't  dare  come  in 
here  an'  let  me  finger  'em  over.  I  can  do  up 
the  whole  push  of  'em.  I'd  like  to  squeeze  that 
guard's  throat  now.  Say,  you  old  walnut-head, 
open  up  the  doors  an'  gimme  a  chance  to  be  af 
fectionate,  will  you?  "  At  close  range  he  did  not 
look  strikingly  like  a  demon.  It  was  difficult, 
on  account  of  the  bars,  to  have  a  satisfactory  view 
of  him,  but  with  the  exception  of  his  extraordi 
narily  piercing  brown  eyes,  he  gave  the  impres 
sion,  both  in  conversation  and  manner,  of  being 
an  ordinary  prisoner.  A  well-built  body  and 
general  muscular  appearance  suggested  good 
health,  and  his  complexion  was  not  much  worse 
than  that  of  his  less  closely  confined  fellow  con 
victs.  At  the  time  of  his  imprisonment  in  the 
underground  cell  he  was  about  thirty-five  years 
old. 

On  all  occasions  when  a  privileged  visitor  was 
taken  to  see  Jeliffe  the  official  explained  a  little 
how  Jeliffe  lived. 

"  He  spends  hours  every  day  in  gymnastics," 
he  would  say.  "  He  is  one  of  the  strongest  men 
I  ever  had  to  guard.  If  you  ask  him  why  he 

"3 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

takes  so  much  exercise,  he  says :  '  I'm  tryin'  to 
keep  my  mind  above  my  body.'  He  means  that 
he  is  trying  to  keep  strong.  Although  he  ha. 
been  in  that  cell  for  over  ten  months  at  a  stretch, 
he  can  still  do  up  any  three  ordinary  men.  Oh, 
he's  a  phenomenon  all  right.  No  doubt  about 
that." 

Harvey  Jeliffe  had  not  upon  his  first  entrance 
into  prison  been  the  Demon  of  the  place ;  he  had 
been  a  most  exemplary  penitent.  Later  he  had 
committed  a  murder  in  the  prison  itself  and  had 
escaped  the  death-penalty  only  by  a  surmise,  to 
which  he  himself  refused  in  the  least  to  assent, 
of  insanity.  It  had  been  plain  both  to  judge 
and  jury  that  a  man  with  but  a  short  term  still 
to  serve,  who  committed  a  murder  that  must  be 
brought  home  to  him,  could  not  be  wholly  of 
sound  mind.  When  he  got  a  life-sentence  he 
promised  openly  "  to  do  for  "  the  warden,  and 
that  is  lese-majeste  and  half  a  dozen  other  hei 
nous  things,  besides  being  foolish.  In  the  mean 
time  while  the  warden  showed  respect  for  his 
own  skin  by  keeping  out  of  the  way,  Harvey  kept 
himself  in  practice  by  knocking  the  "  screws' ' 
heads  together  and  miscellaneously  spoiling 
them,  for  weeks  after  they  had  passed  through  his 
114 


The  Prison  Demon 

hands,  for  a  visit  to  their  sweethearts.  There 
fore,  as  was  but  reasonable,  he  had  been  scien 
tifically  paddled,  subjected  to  hot  water  in  im 
moderation  and  to  electricity,  and  strung  up  by 
the  wrists  for  thirty-six  hours,  as  a  modest  mini 
mum,  at  a  stretch.  When  he  had  proved  after 
these  delicate  attentions  that  he  really  did  not 
understand  kindness,  he  was  pronounced  by  the 
warden,  and  became,  the  Prison  Demon,  and  was 
dealt  with  as  such. 

In  connection  with  the  "  Harvey  Jeliffe  Case," 
as  it  is  sometimes  called,  there  appeared  not  long- 
ago  in  the  public  prints  a  paragraph  entitled 
"  An  Experiment  in  Penology,"  which  read  thus : 

"  The  warden  of  the Penitentiary  has  had 

built  a  very  remarkable  cage  in  which  are  to  be 
confined  two  prisoners  who  have  heretofore  been 
an  expense  to  the  State,  which  it  is  hoped  the  in 
novation  will  very  considerably  reduce.  One  of 
the  prisoners  is  the  well-known  professional  crim 
inal  Harvey  Jeliffe,  popularly  called  The  Prison 
Demon,  and  the  other  is  a  murderer  who,  if  not 
so  inherently  irreclaimable  as  Jeliffe,  has  had  to 
be  confined  in  a  separate  cell  guarded  by  extra 
prison  officers.  The  plan  is  to  put  these  two 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

men  into  the  cage,  and,  if  possible,  to  make  them 
work.  Whether  they  work  or  not,  however,  it 
is  believed  that  imprisonment  in  the  cage  is  the 
most  fitting  punishment  to  be  meted  out  to  such 
fiends.  It  was  suggested  to  the  warden  that  the 
two  men  might  turn  upon  each  other  and  do 
grave  harm,  but  this  possibility  does  not  seem  to 
give  the  warden  great  concern.  He  said  in  re 
gard  to  it  that  if  the  men  actually  killed  each 
other,  he  was  not  sure  that  that  would  not  be  the 
best  solution  of  the  problem.  To  the  layman  this 
form  of  execution  cannot  but  seem  irregular,  to 
say  the  least,  but  it  is  a  question  deserving  of  very 
serious  consideration  by  both  specialists  and  lay 
men  whether  it  would  not  be  wise  to  put  such 
wretches  out  of  the  world  by  process  of  law." 

Since  the  publication  of  this  paragraph  there 
have  been  a  number  of  public  statements  by  pro 
fessorial  criminologists,  who  have  examined 
Jeliffe  in  regard  to  his  degree  of  degeneracy,  and 
the  consensus  of  opinion  among  them  is  that 
physically  as  well  as  mentally  he  is  a  pronounced 
type  of  criminal  abnormality.  They  consider 
him  the  kind  of  criminal  that  Professor  Lombroso 
suggests  might  fitly  be  put  out  of  the  world. 
They  see  no  hope  whatever  of  reforming  him, 
116 


The  Prison  Demon 

and  do  not  hesitate  to  offer  his  case  as  proof  of 
the  need  of  legislation  which  will  permanently  rid 
a  community  of  men  of  his  stamp.  The  prison 
ers  in  the  penitentiary  where  Harvey  Jeliffe  is 
confined  also  have  comments  to  make  on  his 
case,  but  there  is  a  very  decided  difference  be 
tween  their  remarks  and  those  of  the  criminolo- 
gists.  They  do  not  accept  the  notion  that  Jeliffe 
is  a  degenerate;  the  majority  of  them  believe  that 
from  the  time  he  was  first  sent  to  the  under 
ground  cell  until  the  present  moment  he  has 
acted  exactly  as  they  would  have  acted  under 
similar  provocation.  That  the  world  calls  him  a 
"  demon  "  is  evidence  of  ignorance  on  the  part  of 
the  world,  which  they  can  only  laugh  at.  But 
what  can  be  expected  of  men  publicly  convicted 
of  crime?  This  question  is  rhetorical,  which  is 
to  say  it  is  not  to  be  taken  seriously. 

At  the  time  that  a  professor  of  criminology 
was  conducting  his  university  Seminar  through 
the  prison  in  order  that  his  students  might  see  in 
the  flesh  some  of  the  monsters  he  had  described 
to  them  in  the  lecture-room,  a  convict  by  the 
name  of  Jervis  Harpson  made  a  statement  to  a 
group  of  fellow  prisoners  in  regard  to  Jeliffe, 
which  is  representative  of  the  opinion  concerning 
117 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

him  among  the  more  enlightened  Powers  That 
Prey. 

"  'Course  these  college  blokes  think  Harvey's 
bughouse,"  he  said,  "  'cause  they  ain't  next.  I've 
known  Harvey  ever  since  he  struck  the  turf.  I 
knew  him  when  he  was  only  a  kid  travelin'  with 
that  Western  mob  of  grafters.  The  fellow's 
a  wise  one — dead  wise.  But  he's  got  a  grouch 
on.  I  don't  know  the  whole  o'  the  details,  but 
I  know  enough  of  'em  to  understand  that  it's  a 
case  o'  grouch  an'  not  bughouse." 


118 


II. 


In  the  life  that  preceded  his  time  of  bondage 
Harvey  JeliiTe  was  not  a  man  who  coveted,  or  in 
deed  who  gave  great  occasion  for,  commiseration. 
He  did  that  which  seemed  pleasant  in  his  own 
eyes,  and  what  his  heart  lusted  for  he  took  and 
kept  with  a  strong  hand.  In  particular  his 
heart  had  lusted  for  Nettie  Rix,  and  he  had  taken 
her  from  her  father  and  her  brothers  by  dint  of 
his  strong  hand  in  their  faces  in  what  the  neigh 
borhood  called  a  "  mix-up,"  which  occurred 
when  he  proposed  for  her.  To  be  sure  his  prop 
osition  was  somewhat  sudden  and  was  not 
couched  in  accents  that  could  in  the  least  be 
called  typical  of  the  lover's  whining,  wheedling 
deference  toward  the  guardian  dragons  of  his  be 
loved.  He  had  said  with  Homeric  simplicity, 
after  having  listened  to  the  family  protest  against 
their  main  wage-earner  being  removed :  "  You 
can  stow  that  gas  for  all  me:  Net  an'  me  is 
goin'  to  flit  right  now.  If  y'  ain't  dead  set  on 
bein'  sorry  to  part  with  her,  y'  can  git  away  from 

9  ^9 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

that  door.  If  y'  don't  git  away,  I'll  walk 
t'rough  y'  and  it  might  dis-regulate  y'r  insides." 
It  was  then  that  the  "  mix-up  "  had  occurred : 
Harvey  had  "  walked  t'rough "  Nettie's  male 
kinsmen,  at  all  events  greatly  to  the  discoloration 
of  their  outsides,  and  quite  literally  had  brought 
away  his  bride.  He  had  not  beaten  her  since 
more  nor  oftener  than  she  needed:  she  herself 
stood  ready  to  testify  to  this  with  every  outward 
accompaniment  of  rage  the  instant  she  heard  him 
accused ;  and  she  surely  ought  to  know  how  often 
and  to  what  extent,  she  was  in  need.  Nettie  was 
more  than  a  little  good  to  look  upon,  and  it  is 
possible  that  her  tolerance  was  great  because  no 
matter  how  heavily  he  struck  her  Harvey  was 
careful  never  to  disfigure  her  face.  They  had 
one  child — Blanche — of  whom  they  were  both 
devotedly  fond. 

Detective  Ackeray  was  not  given  to  what  the 
young  lady  novelists  would  call  assorted  senti 
ment.  He  had  heard  members  of  the  officially 
gentler  sex  cry  out  insults  to  which  nothing  but 
a  good  drubbing  is  an  answer,  and  that  an  insuf 
ficient  one ;  and  had  seen  women  tantalize  a  man 
to  deal  the  blow  which  would  dishonor  him,  un 
til  from  the  point  of  view  of  a  member  of  the  force 

I2O 


The  Prison  Demon 

he  thought  the  blow  had  been  earned  and  ought 
to  be  delivered.  "  A  lady  that  ain't  a  lady  and 
can't  act  like  a  lady,  don't  deserve  to  be  treated 
like  a  lady,"  he  had  once  been  heard  to  declare, 
between  his  teeth,  as  he  bundled  a  bonnet  and 
skirt  et  cetera  roughly  into  a  patrol  wagon.  To 
be  sure,  the  exasperation  had  been  extreme:  the 
bonnet  and  skirt  had  behaved  more  as  if  they  con 
tained  a  large  member  of  the  cat  species  than  a 
woman,  and  one  side  of  Detective  Ackeray's  face 
had  been  laid  open  in  broad  bands  from  eye  to 
chin.  The  point  is,  however,  that  Nettie  Jeliffe 
did  act  like  a  lady,  according  to  Detective  Ack 
eray's  standard  at.  least,  and  that  he  once  hap 
pened  to  be  present  when  Harvey  Jeliffe  was  exe 
cuting  a  bit  of  matrimonial  discipline,  and  threat 
ened  to  "  run  him  in." 

The  discipline  was  being  given  in  the  street, 
and  Ackeray  would  not  have  been  a  fly  cop  had 
he  not  believed  it  to  be  his  right  to  take  a  hand 
in  all  street  happenings.  Harvey  believed  it  to 
be  his  right  to  administer  any  chastisement  that 
he  thought  his  wife  needed  wherever  it  proved 
most  convenient. 

"  This  's  my  circus,"  he  said  defiantly,  when 
Ackeray  threatened  to  "  pinch  "  him.  "  You 

121 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

rubber  too  much  with  y'r  neck,  you  do.  If  you 
can't  do  anythin'  better  than  mix  yourself  in 
family  affairs,  why  I'll  help  you  to  get  over  the 
habit." 

"  I  tell  you  those  too,"  Nettie  declared,  boldly 
championing  her  husband's  right  to  bring  her  up 
according  to  his  best  light.  "  If  you  fly  cops 
'ud  take  care  o'  your  own  fam'lies  the  way  you 
try  to  take  care  of  other  people's,  you'd  save  more 
money.  You're  an  old  woman,  that's  what  you 
are.  I  wouldn't  be  found  dead  livin'  with  you." 
"  Sock  it  to  him! "  "  Hit  him  where  he  lives! " 
"  Kick  him  out  o'  the  street !  "  bystanders  sug 
gested;  and  Nettie  was  emboldened  to  continue 
her  "  roasting." 

"  You  jus'  try  to  pinch  my  Harvey,"  she  went 
on.  "  W'y,  you  long-legged,  leather-headed, 
Front-Office  stiff,  I'd  rather  have  my  Harvey 
kick  me  reg'lar  every  mornin'  than  drink  a  bottle 
o'  sham  with  you  every  night.  You  go  home 
an*  see  'f  your  own  wife  don't  need  a  little 
trouncinV 

Detective  Ackeray  was  not  hurt  by  the  frank 
ness  of  Nettie  Jeliffe's  speech ;  neither  did  he  find 
that  it  lessened  her  "  ladyship."  On  the  contrary, 
he  was  old-fashioned  enough  to  think  a  generous 

122 


The  Prison  Demon 

lie  a  grace  in  womanhood  and  that  a  family  quar 
rel  is  a  sacred  function  so  long  as  the  family 
stands  ready  to  present  a  united  front  against  the 
intervention  of  an  outsider. 

"  Long-legged,  leather-headed,  Front-Office 
stiff  "  is  not  a  hackneyed  term  of  endearment,  and 
if  Nettie  Jeliffe  had  been  searching  for  a  phrase 
by  which  to  recommend  herself  to  Detective 
Ackeray's  esteem,  she  might  not  have  hit  upon 
it.  His  taste,  however,  was  mature  and  sound : 
he  did  not  mind  hard  words ;  they  do  not  lacerate 
the  flesh ;  he  minded  only  bonnets  and  skirts  with 
feline-fiendish  contents;  and  it  stands  recorded 
that  whereas  before  Nettie  Jeliffe  had  ridiculed 
him  he  had  pronounced  her  a  "  clipper,"  after 
she  had  ridiculed  him  he  pronounced  her 
emphatically  a  "  corker."  No  very  definite 
ideas  are  attached  to  either  of  these  words,  but 
they  both  express  admiration,  and  "  corker " 
is  more  nearly  extreme  than  "  clipper."  Later 
Ackeray  was  heard  to  say,  "  That  little  woman  is 
too  good  for  Jeliffe,"  and  to  declare  that  he  would 
do  her  a  good  turn  some  time  if  he  saw  his  way. 
He  was  not  a  man  to  split  hairs  about  what  he 
thought  a  good  turn,  and  what  she  would  think 
a  good  turn :  if  she  did  not  know  what  was  good 
for  her,  he  did;  it  was  not  good  for  her  to  be 
123 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

beaten.  When  he  arrested  Harvey 
picion,"  in  connection  with  the  housebreaking  in 
Rishworth  Place,  she  cried  more  bitterly  than  at 
any  time  when  she  had  received  a  beating:  she 
took  her  beatings  for  the  most  part  in  haughty 
silence.  When  he  succeeded  in  convicting  Har 
vey,  altogether  on  circumstantial  evidence,  and  in 
obtaining  a  sentence  of  four  years,  she  cried  still 
more  bitterly.  That  was  as  it  should  be:  he 
liked  her  the  better  because  she  stuck  to  her  man. 
The  farewell  between  husband  and  wife  was 
neither  heart-breaking  nor  prolonged,  but  it  was 
"  on  the  level." 

"  Take  care  o'  the  kid,  Net,  old  girl,"  Harvey 
said.  "  I'm  innocent  all  right  'nough,  but  there 
ain't  no  need  for  the  kid  to  know  where  I  am." 

"  I'll  visit  you  reg'lar  every  visitin'  day,"  prom 
ised  Nettie,  at  the  time  really  intending  to  keep 
her  promise.  "  Remember  an'  make  good  time, 
an'  don't  get  into  any  rows.  I'll  take  care  o' 
Blanche,  so  you  don't  need  to  worry.  You'll 
write  me,  won't  you?  " 

"  Sure." 

"  Kiss  me  good-by ;  y'  ain't  kissed  me  since 
Blanche's  last  birthday.  So-long,  Harvey ! " 
And  the  train  and  Harvey  started  for  the  Stir. 


124 


The  Prison  Demon 

If  Detective  Ackeray  had  been  a  mere  private 
citizen  and  not  a  prince,  or  rather  a  princeling, 
he  must  in  mere  decency  have  forborne  for  some 
time  to  express  his  admiration  for  Nettie  Jeliffe, 
The  customs  of  an  aristocracy  are  more  direct; 
the  business  of  a  prince,  and  even  of  a  princeling, 
require  haste,  and  their  substantial  power  makes 
haste  possible.  Courtship  in  the  given  circum 
stances  was  difficult,  but  courtship  in  the  given 
circumstances  is  always  difficult,  and  there  are  no 
circumstances  whatever  in  which  women  have 
not  been  wooed  and  won.  Detective  Ackeray 
began  his  courtship  on  a  street-corner  and  con 
tinued  it  in  a  station-house.  He  had  deprived 
her  of  a  protector  who  did  not  protect :  he  wished 
to  provide  her  with  another  who  would;  he  had 
not  hunted  down  Harvey  out  of  malice;  it  had 
been  his  business  to  work  up  such  evidence  as 
there  was,  and  he  had  done  his  business  and  got 
his  reward,  and  the  prosecuting  attorney  had 
done  the  rest.  These  things  he  told  her  round 
ly,  with  a  manly  straightforwardness  that  should 
have  touched  the  heart,  or  the  imagination  or 
fancy  of  any  woman.  When,  instead  of  listen 
ing  to  him,  she  reviled  him,  with  feminine  finish, 
point,  and  fluency,  before  a  gathering  crowd  of 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

chaffing  auditors,  he  proved  himself  a  man  to 
be  depended  upon  in  an  emergency,  one  of  the 
strong  dumb  souls  Carlyle  and  Ruskin  used  to 
celebrate  as  natural  leaders  and  governors  of 
men:  he  promptly  placed  her  under  arrest  as 
drunk  and  disorderly.  The  next  morning  in 
court  she  sufficiently  demonstrated  her  disposi 
tion  to  disorder  by  treating  his  honor  with  an  al 
ternate  haughtiness  and  eloquence  which  made 
the  audience  behind  the  rail  titter  and  the  double 
bench  of  bluecoats  shake  with  involuntary  mirth. 
The  bailiff  cried  "  silence "  and  threatened  to 
clear  the  court ;  his  honor  passed  sentence  of  ten 
dollars  or  ten  clays;  Detective  Ackeray  paid  the 
fine. 

In  the  corridor  of  the  magistrate's  court  he 
gave  Nettie  what  he  would  have  been  pleased  to 
call  "  professional  "  advice.  "  See  here,  Net, 
the  next  time  't  I  chew  the  rag  with  you  about 
cuttin'  up  in  the  streets  an'  boozin',  you  want  to 
listen— see?  " 

She  did  not  listen  the  next  time,  nor  the  time 
after,  though  it  need  not  be  doubted  that  she  was 
impressed — yes!  and  subdued  and  attracted — by 
the  might  and  decision  of  the  prince.  She  had 
loved  Harvey,  mainly  because  he  had  vanquished 
126 


The  Prison  Demon 

her  kinsmen,  and  a  little  because  he  had  beaten 
her  as  often  as  she  needed  it  and  not  oftener.  In 
equal  logic  she  ought  to  have  loved  the  prince, 
mainly  because  he  had  vanquished  Harvey,  and  a 
little  because,  if  he  did  not  beat  her  to  silence  her 
tongue,  he  had  discovered  a  method  of  proced 
ure  which  much  more  nearly  silenced  it  than  any 
thing  that  Harvey  had  ever  done ;  and  the  strong 
point  of  every  woman  is  logic — the  women  in 
their  conventions  and  clubs  say  so.  But  the  sec 
ond  strong  point  of  every  woman  is  her  gift  for 
concealing  her  logic.  Nettie  Jeliffe  concealed 
hers,  so  far  at  least  as  Detective  Ackeray  was  con 
cerned,  as  long  as  in  all  human  endurance  a 
woman  could.  She  became  an  old  offender  in 
the  several  magistrates'  courts  in  the  district 
throughout  which  Detective  Ackeray  had  au 
thority.  The  charge  was  always  drunk  and  dis 
orderly,  and  the  complainant  always  Detective 
Ackeray;  and  sometimes  as  the  months  passed 
she  had  been  drunk,  and  she  had  always  been  dis 
orderly.  She  could  not  go  back  to  her  kinsmen 
— her  mere  presence  reminded  them  too  vividly 
of  an  unpleasant  incident,  or  coruscation  of  inci 
dents,  which  had  taken  place  at  the  moment  of 
her  departure.  She  could  not  retain  a  position 
127 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

even  when  she  got  one,  because  of  the  frequency 
with  which  she  was  under  arrest ;  and  besides,  the 
fact  that  she  was  Harvey  Jeliffe's  wife  was  not 
commonly  regarded  as  a  recommendation.  Ack- 
eray  paid  her  fine,  or  let  her  pay  it  herself  or  work 
it  out,  as  a  jockey  might  gentle  or  punish  a 
spirited  horse  which  he  took  a  pride  in  training. 
Whether  he  paid  her  fine  or  not,  he  always  re 
peated  to  her  that  the  next  time  he  tried  to  chew 
the  rag  with  her  she  had  better  listen — see?  Her 
absences  from  home  and  her  proved  intemper 
ance  made  her  an  improper  guardian  for  little 
Blanche.  When  the  child  was  taken  away  from 
her,  also  at  the  instigation  of  Detective  Ackeray, 
Nettie  JelifTe  listened. 

Three  months  afterward  she  was  legally  and 
absolutely  separated  from  Harvey  and  was  mar 
ried  to  a  man  whom  she  addressed  sometimes  as 
"  George,"  sometimes  as  "  dear,"  and  little 
Blanche,  who  was  restored  to  her  home,  was  out 
spoken  in  her  approval  of  her  new  papa.  De 
tective  Ackeray  was  "  George."  He  was  also 
dear. 


128 


III. 

It  has  been  remarked  in  the  first  part  of  this 
tale  that  Harvey  Jeliffe  on  becoming  a  penitent 

in  the  great Penitentiary,  had  no  notion 

or  intention  of  ever  bidding  for  the  notoriety  that 
has  come  to  him  in  later  years  as  the  Prison 
Demon.  He  went  to  the  Stir  originally  with 
the  idea  of  getting  all  the  "  good  time  "  that  the 
law  allows  a  man  who  has  been  sentenced  to  four 
years,  and  of  keeping  out  of  all  rows  as  his  wife 
had  advised.  He  did  that  which  all  wise  men 
who  are  sent  to  prison  do :  in  the  language  of  the 
pugilist,  he  gathered  himself  together.  Men  who 
go  to  prison  for  the  first  time  have  more  difficulty 
in  achieving  this  feat  than  those  who  have  been 
there  before,  but  to  live  at  all  successfully — and 
even  prisoners  have  their  standard  of  success — 
all  must  sooner  or  later  hit  upon  a  plan  by  which 
they  are  to  deal  with  their  guards  and  fellow 
penitents  with  as  little  friction  as  possible.  Even 
with  the  most  careful  there  are  moments  when 
they  entirely  forget  their  philosophy  and  do 
129 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

things  which  in  the  open  they  would  never  have 
been  guilty  of.  Long  confinement  will  disturb  the 
mental  equilibrium  of  any  man;  but  all  must 
struggle,  and  do  struggle,  to  live  as  unobtrusive 
lives  as  under  the  circumstances  are  possible. 

Harvey  Jeliffe,  on  arriving  at  the  great 

Penitentiary,  knew  with  a  certainty  which  would 
have  made  some  men  commit  suicide,  that  he  was 
innocent  of  the  crime  for  which  he  had  been  con 
victed  ;  but  he  knew  also  that  it  was  no  use  to  let 
this  fact  govern  his  policy  as  a  prisoner.  It  was 
not  for  him  to  ask  the  prison  world  how  or  why 
his  conviction  had  come  about ;  it  was  for  him  to 
be  an  exemplary  convict.  And  so,  wondering 
all  the  while  how  things  were  going  "  on  the  out 
side,"  and  continually  struggling  with  an  impa 
tience  at  the  way  the  world  is  made,  he  worked 
hard  for  two  years  and  nine  months  to  get  a 
"  good-conduct  "  reduction  of  his  sentence.  There 
remained  but  a  few  months  more  of  confinement, 
and  they  were  to  be  the  least  irksome  of  all  be 
cause  Harvey  had  climbed  the  heights  which 
lead  to  the  eminence  of  a  "  trusty  " ;  he  had  be 
come  the  errand  boy  of  the  prison  doctor,  and 
was  sent  on  commissions  to  all  the  different  de 
partments.  One  day,  while  on  an  errand  to  the 

130 


The  Prison  Demon 

glove  department,  he  met  an  old  acquaintance 
who  had  recently  been  committed  to  the  institu 
tion,  and  he  asked  him  for  news  of  the  "  outside." 

"  How  is  the  push  comin'  up?  "  he  queried,  re 
ferring  to  his  old  "  pals."  Some  were  "  settled  " 
(in  prisons  like  himself),  he  learned,  others  were 
dead,  and  still  others  were  operating  in  new 
fields. 

"  What's  the  matter  with  Net?  I  ain't  heard 
anythin'  from  her  for  two  years." 

"  Ain't  no  one  put  you  next?  "  the  newcomer 
counter-questioned  him. 

"  Next  to  what?     She  ain't  dead,  is  she?  " 

"  No,  she's  live  an'  kickin'  yet,  but  that  fly  cop 
Ackeray  has  tied  up  with  her.  They're  mar 
ried." 

"  Where's  the  kid?  " 

"  She's  livin'  with  Ackeray  too.  Calls  him 
papa." 

A  guard  appeared  just  then,  and  the  conversa 
tion  was  broken  off.  It  had  been  successful, 
however;  Harvey  had  wanted  "news,"  and  he 
had  got  it.  There  were  other  trips  to  the  glove 
department  to  secure  the  details  of  the  story  by 
word  of  mouth,  but  his  own  imagination  had 
patched  them  together  for  him  after  he  had 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

learned  the  main  fact,  which  was  that  Ackeray 
"  had  done  him  dirt."  The  unmerited  convic 
tion  and  imprisonment  became  for  him  now  part 
of  a  general  scheme  to  "  ditch  "  him.  The  in 
justice  of  the  punishment  had  troubled  him  and 
made  it  hard  to  obey  the  rules,  but  he  had  con 
quered  the  temptation  to  be  unruly.  He  had 
been  puzzled  by  Nettie's  refusal  to  write,  but  he 
had  not  connected  Ackeray  with  her  neglect  of 
him.  In  an  indefinite  way  he  had  planned  sdme 
day  to  settle  accounts  with  Ackeray  for  the  part 
he  had  played  in  his  (Harvey's)  misfortunes,  but 
the  thought  of  ways  and  means  had  not  captured 
his  mind ;  that  could  be  attended  to  after  he  had 
secured  his  reduction  of  sentence.  Had  he  been 
"  outside  "  even  the  news  of  Ackeray's  theft  of 
his  wife  and  child  might  possibly  have  been  as 
reasonably  considered  as  had  been  the  conviction 
that  he  was  unjustly  a  prisoner.  Men  of  Har 
vey's  stamp  are  much  calmer  in  the  open  than  in 
the  Stir,  and  marriages  and  divorces  take  on  no 
such  final  proportions.  It  had  taken  all  of  Har 
vey's  good  sense,  however,  to  be  a  model  peni 
tent,  and  the  complete  revelation  of  Ackeray's 
duplicity  fired  him  with  a  desire  for  revenge. 
Henceforth  his  one  passion  was  to  meet  Ackeray. 
132 


The  Prison  Demon 

He  still  remained  a  "  trusty  " ;  good  behavior  had 
become  automatic  with  him ;  but  his  ambition  was 
no  longer  simply  to  be  released.  He  spoke  to 
the  warden  and  the  guards  of  his  wish  to  have  a 
talk  with  Ackeray.  He  said  that  there  was  a  sus 
pended  sentence  hanging  over  him  in  another 
court  and  he  wanted  to  know  if  Ackeray  would 
be  willing  "  to  fix  things  up  for  him." 

"  He's  the  only  fellow  that  can  straighten  the 
matter  out,"  he  explained  to  the  warden,  "  and 
I  want  to  have  a  talk  with  him." 

"  You're  afraid  you'll  be  arrested  on  being 
turned  loose  from  here,  is  that  it?  "  asked  the 
warden. 

"  That's  exactly  it,"  said  Harvey,  "  and  I  think 
if  Ackeray  '11  go  to  the  front  for  me,  I  won't  be 
bothered." 

"  All  right.  Ackeray's  goin'  to  bring  some 
prisoners  here  in  a  day  or  so,  an'  I'll  let  him 
know." 

Three  days  later  Detective  Ackeray  arrived  at 

the  great  Penitentiary  with  a  batch  of 

penitents,  for  whose  bodies  he  was  given  a  receipt 
by  the  warden.  He  was  informed  of  Harvey's 
desire  for  a  talk  with  him,  and  was  immediately 
impressed  with  Ihe  importance  to  himself  of  such 
133 


The   Powers  That  Prey 

a  talk.  Possibly  he  might  find  it  to  his  advan 
tage  to  arrange  matters  so  that  the  alleged  sus 
pended  sentence  should  be  carried  out. 

"  Sure,  I'll  see  him,"  he  said  to  the  warden. 
"  Where  is  he?  " 

''  You'll  probably  find  him  over  in  the  doc 
tor's  office.  Take  him  into  the  garden  if  you 
want  to  be  private,  and  tell  the  doctor  I  said  it 
would  be  all  right." 

The  meeting  took  place  in  the  doctor's  office. 
The  doctor  was  in  another  part  of  the  prison,  and 
Harvey  had  been  left  in  charge.  No  one  heard 
the  conversation  between  the  two  men,  and  only 
two  of  the  guards  knew  anything  about  their  be 
ing  together.  Whether  Harvey  made  use  of 
his  "  suspended  sentence "  story,  or  charged 
Ackeray  immediately  with  foul  treatment  of  him, 
has  never  been  decided.  The  two  men  were  in 
conference,  according  to  the  testimony  of  the 
guards,  about  half  an  hour,  and  it  seems  reason 
able  to  suppose  that  Harvey  could  only  have  in 
terested  Ackeray  this  length  of  time  by  reference 
to  the  suspended  sentence;  but  in  view  of  what 
happened  one  is  justified  in  wondering  why  he 
should  have  wanted  to  interest  him  at  all.  Har 
vey  himself  has  persistently  refused  to  make  any 


The  Prison  Demon 

statement  one  way  or  the  other.  When  the  doc 
tor  returned  to  his  office  Harvey  was  found  sit 
ting  in  a  pool  of  blood  on  the  floor,  cutting  into 
small  bits  with  a  surgeon's  knife  the  heart  of  De 
tective  Ackeray,  who  lay  dead  and  mutilated  in 
a  corner  of  the  room.  At  the  trial  it  was  re 
ported  that  Harvey  had  mumbled  to  himself  as  he 
cut,  "  So  much  for  so  much ;  for  that  and  for 
that " ;  but  no  intelligible  interpretation  of  these 
expressions  could  be  discovered,  and  they  were 
eventually  accepted  as  contributory  evidence  of 
his  insanity. 


10  135 


THE  GREAT  IDEA. 
I. 

It  is  not  for  an  instant  to  be  supposed  that  the 
Great  Idea  was  possessed  in  the  beginning  by 
Ruderick  in  the  grave  magnitude  and  symmetry 
in  which  it  ultimately  stood  revealed.  He  con 
ceived  at  first  only  the  vague  outline  and  worked 
in  the  details  afterward  as  occasion  served.  But 
it  is  to  him  and  not  to  Judge  Barwood  that  the 
credit  of  the  Great  Idea  belongs. 

Be  it  known  that  in  the  city  of  Cornville  Judge 
Barwood,  before  he  went  to  Congress,  was  the 
predecessor  of  Mayor  Renshaw,  who  was  the  pre 
decessor  of  Mayor  Hochheimer,  whose  story  has 
been  touched  upon  in  the  tale  of  the  Four  Celeb 
rities  ;  and  that  in  Mayor  Barwood's  day  Ruderick 
and  his  clan  held  carnival  and  Adolph  Hoch 
heimer  became  a  personage.  The  populace  in 
dulged  its  taste,  which  is  strong  waters  and  late 
hours,  to  the  utmost.  Every  man  did  that  which 
seemed  right  in  his  own  eyes,  as  the  doctrine  of 
136 


The  Great  Idea 

liberty,  duly  misconstrued,  commends;  and  the 
majority,  which  is  the  populace,  ruled,  as  in  the 
mathematical  theory  of  republicanism,  which  es 
timates  men  not  according  to  their  value  but  ac 
cording  to  their  number,  the  majority  should  rule. 
Therefore  Herbert  Renshaw,  Esq.,  who  believed 
in  his  divine  right  to  govern  himself  and  all  men 
else  according  to  the  dictates  of  his  conscience, 
and  Richard  Englar,  Esq.,  who  believed  in  his 
divine  right  to  see  himself  and  all  men  else  gov 
erned  in  the  interests  of  his  bank,  and  Edwin 
Cowles,  Esq.,  who  had  an  ancestor  (one  only  it 
seemed),  and  who  had  been  to  college  and 
learned  that  it  is  every  man's  civic  duty  to  take 
an  interest  in  the  government  of  the  Great 
Democracy  whether  he  is  fitted  to  do  so  wisely  or 
not: — these  three,  their  associates  and  abettors, 
constituted  themselves  a  Power  and  a  Party  and 
used  the  letter  of  the  institutions  of  the  country 
to  defeat,  confound,  exasperate,  enrage,  enfrenzy 
the  spirit  of  them.  They  drew  up  and  caused  to 
be  printed  in  the  newspapers  an  insidious,  decep 
tive,  Jesuitical  declaration  of  principles,  miscalled 
a  platform.  The  gist  of  which  principles  was 
personal  purity  in  public  office,  an  honest  count  in 
elections,  an  administration  without  fear  or  favor 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

of  the  existing  law.  What  the  men  who  drafted 
that  document  meant  really  was  that  they  were 
not  republicans  at  heart,  and  found  the  prefer 
ences  of  the  majority  hateful  and  intended  to  take 
advantage  if  possible  of  a  momentary  discontent 
on  their  part  with  Mayor  Barwood — a  mere  pass 
ing  fit  of  the  spleen — and  to  make  the  majority 
forego  its  preferences,  in  some  respects  at  least, 
until  it  got  another  chance  to  change  the  city  of 
ficers  and  city  ordinances;  whereas  everybody 
knows  that  the  city  ordinances  and  the  State  stat 
utes  and  the  letter  of  the  law  generally  are  pro 
visions  for  extreme  cases,  are  intended  not  so 
much  to  be  enforced  as  to  strike  would-be  trans 
gressors  with  the  fear  which  begets  moderation 
and  discretion,  and  that  for  any  government  to 
take  the  people  at  its  word  is  to  defeat  its  will  by 
mere  chicane.  If  we  cannot  say  one  thing  and 
mean  another  without  being  misunderstood,  a 
government  of  the  people  by  the  people  for  the 
people  must  become  impossible  or  cynically  and 
even  degradingly  veracious.  Amongst  the  indis 
pensable  preliminaries  to  true  delicacy  of  nature 
is  the  proper  lie  stated,  and  not  believed  but  ac 
quiesced  in,  at  the  proper  time. 

Be  it  known  also  that  the  city  of  Cornville 
138 


The  Great  Idea 

lies  in  the  midst  of  a  great  town  and  country 
population  who  are  immaculately  good,  except 
when  they  go  to  Cornville  on  a  visit.  They  think 
it  manners  to  do  in  Cornville  as  Cornville  does. 
Also  they  find  manners  in  this  case  delightful.  It 
would  not  be  polite  to  suggest  that  these  things 
are  exemplified  in  any  other  spot  the  precise  lo 
cation  of  which  is  less  doubtful  than  that  of  Corn 
ville,  and  it  is  respectfully  requested  that  no  sug 
gestion  of  the  kind  be  discovered  here ;  what  the 
scribes  wish  to  assert  is  no  more  than  the  unde 
niable  fact,  which  could  be  proved  in  a  court  of 
law,  or  even  in  a  very  different  place,  at  the  bar 
of  heaven,  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  fields  and 
hamlets  surrounding  Cornville  were  fortunate  in 
their  opportunities  and  even  in  their  necessities. 
They  could  despise  their  neighbors,  they  could 
be  respectable  at  home,  they  must  indeed  leave 
home  to  receive  any  considerable  aid  from  with 
out  to  be  direspectable.  Therefore  the  Under 
World  was  iniquitously  encouraged  to  acquire 
vested  interests  in  the  city  of  Cornville,  and  the 
city  of  Cornville  itself  was  iniquitously  held  re 
sponsible  for  naughtiness  that  "  pillared  "  tem 
ples  in  the  hamlets  of  virtue,  and  that  held 
the  plow  in  the  meadows  of  innocence.  There- 
139 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

fore  there  was  honest  indignation  in  the  Under 
World  when  Herbert  Renshaw,  Esq.,  became  a 
candidate  for  mayor,  and  the  Powers  That  Rule 
met  as  one  man  to  oppose  his  election.  There 
was  a  moment  when  it  seemed  they  might  count 
on  the  undivided  assistance  of  the  Powers  That 
Prey,  but  fate  had  decided  otherwise.  Fate  was 
Ruderick  and  the  Great  Idea. 

Be  it  known  that  at  the  time  Herbert  Renshaw, 
Esq.,  announced  himself  a  candidate  for  the  of 
fice  of  mayor  of  Cornville  there  were  three  bad 
men  in  the  municipality  who  traveled  and  trans 
acted  business  under  the  names  of  "Fritzie"  Can 
nes,  "  Soapy  "  Wadlow,  and  "  Frenchy  "  La- 
tane.  In  the  class  beneath  Ruderick  MeKlowd 
they  were  the  greatest  and  most  envied  Under- 
World  celebrities  living  in  the  community. 
"  Fritzie  "  was  a  gamester  from  London,  Eng 
land,  who  betted  when  he  knew  beforehand  that 
he  could  not  lose  because  he  had  fixed  things  that 
way.  "  Soapy  "  was  a  "  tool  "  from  'Frisco,  who 
could  "  reef  a  leather  "  in  a  driving  rain  and  gale 
of  wind,  and  "  Frenchy  "  was  a  "  stall  "  from 
Quebec,  who  was  a  crowd  in  himself  and  could 
create  a  push  and  squeeze  on  an  open  prairie,  if 
the  victim  marked  for  the  dip  should  take  refuge 
140 


The  Great  Idea 

there.  He  could  arrange  a  "  frame-up,"  and  re 
lieve  "  Soapy  "  of  the  stolen  pocketbook,  after 
"  Soapy  "  had  lifted  it  from  the  victim's  pocket, 
with  a  rapidity  that  made  his  less  practiced  fellow 
"  stalls  "  proclaim  him  a  Wunderkind. 

Be  it  known  also  that  the  three  bad  men,  with 
the  severe  simplicity  of  taste  that  belongs  to  an 
aristocracy,  detested  "  pose."  In  the  event  of 
Renshaw's  election  as  mayor  the  three  believed 
that  Cornville  would  assume  a  pose  of  rectitude, 
which  was  the  less  agreeable  to  them  because  it 
would  hurt  their  business.  Therefore,  when 
Renshaw's  nomination  was  announced,  they  took 
counsel  with  themselves  and  with  Ruderick  for 
the  defeat  of  Renshaw  and  the  better  government 
of  Cornville.  It  was  Ruderick's  distinction  in 
every  community  where  he  happened  to  settle  for 
any  length  of  time  to  be  asked  for  his  view  of  all 
matters  of  importance  to  the  Under  World. 
Speaking  generally,  he  did  not  give  advice  unless 
he  felt  like  it,  and  for  the  most  part  he  did  not 
feel  like  it.  He  looked  upon  "  chewing  the 
rag  "  as  a  vanity,  useless  before  a  man  has  done 
his  job  and  ruinous  afterward.  "  More  good 
guns  talk  themselves  into  the  Stir  in  a  year,"  he 
said,  "  than  all  the  force  could  cop  out  in  a  cen- 
141 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

tury."  He  was  by  temperament  a  "  single- 
handed  "  specialist :  what  he  had  to  do  profes 
sionally  he  liked  to  do  alone,  and  no  questions 
asked  and  no  tales  told.  "  A  gun  that  works  by 
himself  can  never  turn  state's  evidence,  an'  there's 
nobody  to  blame  if  the  job  turns  bad  and  nobody 
to  share  with  if  it  don't,"  was  a  remark  of  his 
which  he  invariably  made  by  way  of  reply  to  all 
suggestions  that  he  join  a  push.  There  were 
times,  however,  when  Ruderick  saw  points  for 
his  own  hand  in  general  discussion,  and  "  Fritzie," 
"  Soapy  "  and  "  Frenchy  "  dropped  in  upon  him 
at  a  time  when  he  was  very  seriously  consider 
ing  what  cards  at  the  moment  he  held.  He  was 
meditating  the  Great  Idea. 

"  Fritzie  "  was  tfie  spokesman  of  the  trio,  and 
he  gave  Ruderick,  from  the  trio's  point  of  view, 
very  conclusive  arguments  why  Herbert  Ren- 
shaw,  Esq.,  should  not  be  elected  mayor  of  Corn- 
ville.  "  If  he's  elected,"  "  Fritzie  "  explained, 
"  it'll  be  the  same  thing  over  again  that  we  was 
up  against  in  York  when  that  Reform  Adminis 
tration  was  in  office.  You  know  yourself  that 
all  us  blokes  had  to  get  out  just  'cause  we  was 
known,  and  the  outside  talent  that  the  Front  Of 
fice  wasn't  next  to  railroaded  to  town  and  copped 
142 


The  Great  Idea 

out  the  coin.  The  Front  Office  couldn't  do  any- 
thin'  with  the  outside  gang  'cause  it  wasn't  onto 
their  mugs.  If  Renshaw  goes  in  we'll  all  have 
to  mooch,  and  the  guns  that  ain't  known  here  '11 
come  to  town  an'  rip  it  open  an'  get  all  the 
plunder.  That  happens  every  time  a  Reform 
Administration  tries  to  run  the  police  of  a  town, 
an'  I  tell  you  straight,  Ruderick,  I'm  gettin'  sick 
of  it.  I've  got  my  stake  in  Barwood,  an'  I  think 
we  ought  to  elect  him.  He's  crooked,  of  course, 
but  blokes  like  us  that  are  known  can't  do  busi 
ness  where  the  mayor  an'  police  ain't  crooked. 
Renshaw  '11  make  some  old  Rube  chief  o'  police, 
an'  we'll  all  get  the  chilly  mit.  Who  you  goin' 
to  work  for,  Ruderick?  Barwood  or  Renshaw?  " 
The  Great  Idea  had  already  found  lodgment  in 
Ruderick's  mind  previous  to  the  visit  of  the  trio. 
It  had  required  numberless  trips  up  and  down  the 
length  of  his  apartment  to  grasp  it  in  anything 
like  its  fullness,  but  once  understood  and  appre 
ciated,  he  immediately  labeled  it  "  the  biggest 
graft "  he  had  ever  thought  out.  Had  the  trio 
called  on  him  a  few  days  earlier  they  would  in  all 
probability  have  found  him  amenable  to  their 
suggestions,  but  they  postponed  their  visit  too 
long.  At  the  time  of  their  call  on  him  he  had  de- 
US 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

cided  to  throw  his  influence  on  the  side  of  the  re 
formers. 

"  There's  Reform  Administrations  an'  there's 
Reform  Administrations,"  he  remarked,  in  reply 
to  "  Fritzie's  "  query,  after  a  pause  which  was 
rather  irregular  for  such  an  intimate  conclave. 
"  Them  of  us  as  was  known  o'  course  got  ditched 
durin'  that  Reform  Administration  over  in  York, 
but  you  can't  prove  everythin'  by  what  happens 
in  York.  York  is  York,  an'  Cornville  is  Corn- 
ville,  an'  I  don't  do  in  York  some  o'  the  things  't 
I  do  here,  an'  visy  versy,  as  they  say  in  the  col 
leges.  You  say  Barwood's  crooked,  an'  that's 
jus'  what  I  got  ag'in  him.  He's  too  damn 
crooked.  He's  squeezed  us  blokes  right  an'  left, 
an'  put  the  dough  in  his  own  pocket.  He  won't 
live  an'  let  live,  that  Barwood  won't.  He  makes 
you  an'  me  cough  up  half  what  we  get,  an'  yet 
he's  makin'  three  times  as  much  as  we  are  him- 
self.  That  kind  o'  bloke  I  like  to  do,  an'  I'm 
goin'  to  do  him  this  election.  If  I  could  see  him 
alone  some  night  in  a  barn  I'd  break  his  face  in. 
He's  the  meanest  grafter  in  this  berg,  an'  you 
know  it  an'  I  know  it.  What  you  blokes  don't 
know  is  that  the  Renshaw  push  is  goin'  to  be  easy 
to  work.  I  got  a  head-piece  on  me,  I  have. 
144 


The  Great  Idea 

'Course  they're  goin'  to  try  to  reform  Cornville, 
but  you  forget  that  Cornville's  Cornville,  and  that 
any  reform  police  force  they  put  in  office's  goin' 
to  be  dead — dead,  I  tell  you.  Renshaw  an'  his 
gang  don't  know  you  an'  me  from  any  other  four 
stiffs  in  town.  He'll  change  the  whole  force, 
thinkin'  they're  all  crooked,  an'  them  that's 
turned  out  '11  keep  us  under  cover  out  o'  spite. 
Things  are  bound  to  go  that  way,  an'  then  we 
get  our  graft  in  an'  there  ain't  no  Barwood 
around  to  squeeze  the  profits  out  of  us.  See? 
You  take  my  tip,  an'  turn  in  an'  elect  Renshaw." 

These  were  his  words  and  the  first  exposition 
of  the  Great  Idea,  and  what  Ruderick  MeKlowd 
recommended  with  a  "  take  my  tip,"  whether  it 
was  in  "  York,"  in  "  Chi,"  or  in  Cornville,  usually 
"  went,"  so  highly  did  the  Under  World  appraise 
him.  And  thus  it  came  about  that  in  Cornville 
the  Under  World  determined  to  turn  down  Bar- 
wood  and  his  following  and  help  elect  a  Reform 
Administration. 

Wadlow,  Cannes  and  Latane  were  simple- 
minded  men,  who  went  about  their  business  with 
a  Homeric  directness  when  once  they  had  decided 
what  was  to  be  done.  They  had  small  faith  in 
eloquence,  and  neither  read  the  public  prints 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

which  favored  the  candidacy  of  Herbert  Renshaw 
nor  urged  among  their  acquaintance  such  rea 
sons  as  they  themselves  had  thought  of  why  it  was 
to  the  interest  of  the  Under  World  that  Mayor 
Barwood  should  not  be  reflected.  They  simply 
got  themselves  constituted  the  official  guardians 
of  the  ballot-box  and  judges  of  the  election  in  a 
single  ward.  As  "  Soapy  "  Wadlow,  he  who 
was  slick  with  his  fingers,  expressed  it,  the  people 
might  vote  as  they  liked,  so  long  as  they  left  him 
to  do  the  counting.  They  had  been  judges  of 
election  the  first  time  Mayor  Barwood  had  been 
a  candidate  for  the  office  he  held,  and  had  found 
the  control  of  the  nineteenth  ward  sufficient. 

The  election-day  came  and  went ;  employers  of 
labor  gave  a  holiday  that  the  workman  might 
dedicate  his  entire  vitality  to  his  sense  of  thirst, 
and  saloons  ostentatiously  closed  their  front  doors 
in  order  that  their  patrons  might  enter  side  doors 
in  the  full  delight  of  discovery.  Mayor  Barwood 
counted  on  the  nineteenth  ward.  The  judges  of 
election  sat  about  the  stove  in  the  polling-booth 
behind  locked  doors  and  smoked  Henry  Clay 
perfectos  and  drank  whisky  and  club  soda, 
and  received  reports  from  time  to  time  of  how  the 
other  wards  had  "  gone."  They  sat  a  long  time. 
146 


The  Great  Idea 

They  made  no  effort  to  count  the  votes;  they 
took  turns  sleeping,  the  sentinels  keeping  them 
selves  and  each  other  awake  at  an  endless  game 
of  twenty-five-cent  ante,  ten-dollar  limit.  There 
was  a  dispute  in  the  thirteenth  ward  in  regard  to 
the  admissibility  of  certain  votes  which  lasted  all 
the  night  following  the  close  of  the  polls  and  the 
next  day  and  the  night  after  that.  There  was 
understood  to  be  a  dispute  in  the  nineteenth  ward 
also  in  regard  to  the  admissibility  of  certain  votes. 
At  seven  o'clock  on  the  second  morning  of  the 
twenty-five-cent  ante  a  message  arrived  that  the 
dispute  in  the  thirteenth  was  settled:  Barwood 
needed  a  majority  of  five  hundred  in  the  nine 
teenth  to  elect  him,  and  as  the  count  stood  he  had 
a  majority  of  but  two  hundred  odd.  The  faces 
of  the  four  men  about  the  card-table  were  gray 
and  sticky  with  fatigue,  but  a  glance  of  under 
standing  passed  round  as  each  man  turned  his 
hand  forward  to  make  his  last  bet. 

"  There's  nothin'  like  an  honest  count,  blokes, 
is  there?  "  remarked  Ruderick,  with  a  yawn.  "  If 
we  hadn't  been  here  to  see  that  the  thing  was  done 
on  the  level,  the  majority  'ud  'a'  been  cheated  out 
of  its  rights — aindt  it? — as  Dutchy  used  to  say." 

"  That's  what  it  would,"   commented    Cannes 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

from  London.  "  When  a  town  wants  a  Reform 
Administration  as  bad  as  Cornville  does,  it  ought 
to  have  it,  an'  the  town  can  thank  us  for  countin' 
the  votes.  I  ain't  done  so  much  figgerin'  in  ten 
years." 

"  Well,  here's  to  the  Reform  Administration,  as 
you  call  it,"  said  "  Soapy,"  draining  his  glass. 
"  Ruderick,  you're  the  father  of  the  beast ;  you 
want  to  train  him." 

"  I  tell  you  those  too,"  said  "  Frenchy."  "  If 
he  gets  us  on  the  run,  Ruderick,  we're  gone." 

"  Trust  me  to  keep  a  rope  around  him,"  re 
plied  Ruderick.  "  An'  it'll  be  a  damn  sight 
easier  than  holdin'  that  Barwood,  an'  that  ain't 
no  dream." 


148 


II. 

When  Mayor  Renshaw  came  into  his  kingdom 
he  governed  it  so  as  to  save  his  own  soul.  In- 
cidentally  his  course  exasperated  a  great  many 
other  people  who,  but  for  him,  would  have  lost 
their  souls  but  once,  or  possibly  not  at  all,  into 
losing  them  twice  over;  but  every  one  bent  on 
saving  his  own  soul  is  bound  to  think  first  of  him 
self  and  to  regard  other  people  and  their  souls 
as  details  in  the  landscape  or  scheme  of  the  world. 
The  inhabitants  of  Cornville  and  its  neighbor 
hood  have  never  been  eminent  in  a  gift  for  amus 
ing  themselves  delicately  and  elegantly:  about 
other  cities  in  the  United  States  it  is  not  pertinent 
to  make  a  statement,  and  none  is  made.  The  law 
of  delight  amongst  the  inhabitants  of  Cornville 
and  its  neighborhood  is  that  they  will  not  accept 
the  first-rate  at  any  price;  the  second-rate  they 
will  tolerate  if  it  be  cheap ;  but  some  amusement  in 
quality  beneath  the  second-rate  they  simply  will 
have,  no  matter  what  the  cost.  Also  the  better 
classes  of  those  beneath  the  second-rate  are  the 
149 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

only  ones  which  it  is  humanly  possible  by  law  to 
suppress ;  and  once  suppressed,  the  demand  that 
found  satisfaction  in  them  is  merely  added  to  the 
demand  which  found  satisfaction  in  amusements 
'  still  less  respectable. 

These  things  Mayor  Renshaw  knew,  but  he 
had  sworn  to  execute  the  law,  and  it  was  no  part 
of  his  reading  of  the  rules  of  duty  that  a  man 
should  get  himself  damned  out  of  a  consideration 
for  other  people.  The  scribes  wish  distinctly  not 
to  recommend  the  entertainment  for  "  the  youth 
of  both  sexes  "  offered  in  dance-halls ;  but  they 
respectfully  submit  that  the  programme  of  the 
dance-hall  is  in  part,  at  least,  addressed  to  the 
eyes  and  the  ears,  and  that  the  youth  of  both 
sexes  might  conceivably  go  farther  and  fare 
worse.  Quite  positively  the  scribes  assert  that 
the  youth  of  both  sexes  in  Cornville  and  the  con 
tributory  country  did  go  farther  and  fare  worse 
when  Mayor  Renshaw  closed  the  dance-halls. 
He  closed  the  gambling-hells  also,  which  is  to 
say  he  scattered  gambling  broadcast  throughout 
the  town.  Before  his  accession  to  office  there 
had  been  a  limited  number  of  more  or  less  recog 
nized  and  responsible  spots  in  the  town  where  a 
man  who  was  determined  to  lose  money  might 
150 


The  Great  Idea 

do  so  without  great  risk  of  violence  or  fraud ;  after 
his  accession  to  office  a  man  never  knew  whether 
he  was  "  up  against  "  mathematics  or  against  the 
game  which,  in  contradistinction  to  mathematics, 
is  called  "  the  sure  thing  " ;  therefore,  since  the 
charm  of  adventure  was  a  new  and  strange  one  in 
Cornville,  every  one  who  gambled  at  all  gambled 
more  and  oftener  in  Mayor  Renshaw's  reign  than 
before.  Drinking-places  he  did  not  close,  be 
cause  he  could  not,  though  he  limited  them  strict 
ly  to  the  terms  of  their  license ;  wherefore  willful 
men  drank  by  the  bottle  after  hours  instead  of  by 
the  glass.  But  his  great  achievement  was  the 
creation  of  a  police  force  that  did  not  know  how 
to  wink.  He  had  no  respect  for  a  man  who  could 
wink  either  literally  or  metaphorically;  he  held 
the  opinion,  which  is  perhaps  audacious,  that  the 
man  who  can  wink  is  not  utterly  indispensable. 
The  inability  of  Edwin  Cowles,  Esq.,  to  wink 
glorified  all  his  remaining  inabilities  in  Mayor 
Renshaw's  eyes,  who  begged  him  to  sacrifice  him 
self  on  the  altar  of  civic  duty,  which  was  Corn- 
villese  for  accepting  an  appointment  as  chief  of 
police.  Mayor  Renshaw  said  that  neither  he  nor 
his  subordinates  should  take  tithes  from  the  har 
vest  of  sin  and  shame,  and  Edwin  Cowles  sacri- 
ii  151 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

ficed  himself.    Both  played  their  destined  part  in 
the  realization  of  the  Great  Idea. 

Then  was  the  city  of  Cornville  delivered  into 
the  hands  of  the  three  bad  men,  who  opened  it  as 
their  oyster,  and  that  was  their  destined  part  in 
the  realization  of  the  Great  Idea.  "  Fritzie  " 
Cannes,  with  his  " sure-thing"  enterprises,  reaped 
a  harvest  which  he  had  never  supposed  Corn 
ville  could  produce.  He  had  thought  that  the 
town  had  done  its  utmost  as  a  "  sporty  "  com 
munity  under  Mayor  Barwood's  "  open "  ad 
ministration  ;  but  he  learned  that  a  town  is  never 
so  gullible  as  when  Reform  attempts  to  tell 
it  that  it  "shan't."  "Soapy"  Wadlow  and 
"  Frenchy  "  Latane  made  similar  agreeable  dis 
coveries.  Pocketbooks  were,  perhaps,  no  more 
numerous  than  in  Mayor  Barwood's  day,  but  they 
"  came  up  easier,"  as  "  Soapy  "  put  it.  The  new 
police  force  could  no  more  tell  when  a  pocket  was 
being  picked;  they  couldn't  even  tell  when  one 
had  been  picked,  unless  they  found  the  "  weeded 
leather "  on  the  ground ;  and  "  Soapy "  and 
"  Frenchy  "  "  dipped  "  deep  with  impunity.  It 
is  also  to  be  remarked  that  they  were  not  called 
on  to  pay  a  percentage  of  their  winnings  to  the 
"  wise."  Indeed,  the  three  were  so  pleased  with 


The  Great  Idea 

their  success,  and  so  confident  of  the  innocence 
and  ignorance  of  their  constituents,  that  they  de 
termined  to  combine  interests,  and  make  a  "  run  " 
on  Richard  Englar's  bank.  It  was  decided  that 
the  easiest  way  to  achieve  the  "  run  "  was  to  ap 
proach  the  building  through  a  subterranean  pas 
sage,  and  the  three  started  to  dig  a  tunnel. 

When  affairs  were  in  this  posture  and  the  tun 
nel  nearly  complete,  Ruderick  MeKlowd  stepped 
one  day  off  a  train  which  had  brought  him  out  of 
the  beyond.  The  Great  Idea  had  taken  him  away 
from  Cornville  soon  after  Herbert  Renshaw  was 
elected  mayor,  and  it  was  the  Great  Idea  that 
brought  him  back.  With  the  letters  of  intro 
duction  and  recommendation  that  he  had  in  his 
pocket  when  he  stepped  off  the  train  he  was  of 
ficially  a  much  more  respectable  personage  than 
when  he  left  Cornville,  but  in  essentials  he  was 
still  Ruderick  MeKlowd,  "  the  Slick  Chi  Gun." 
He  went  straight  from  the  train  to  the  Front  Of 
fice. 

"  I  should  like  to  see  the  chief,"  he  said  to  the 
lieutenant  on  duty,  and  his  name  was  taken  in  to 
the  Reform  Administration  chiefs  sanctum.  The 
chief  granted  the  desired  interview. 

"  Mr.  Cowles,"  Ruderick  began,  "  I  have  been 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

given  to  understand  that  you  are  looking  for  a 
new  man  for  your  detective  force.  I  have  had 
considerable  experience  in  the  detective  business, 
and  I  should  like  to  be  your  new  man,  if  you're 
satisfied  with  my  credentials.  Do  you  care  to 
look  at  them?" 

The  Reform  Administration  "allowed"  that 
it  would  like  to  see  Ruderick's  credentials. 

"  I  see  that  you  are  certified  to  as  being  a  very 
'  wise  '  man,"  remarked  Mr.  Cowles,  after  a  hasty 
perusal  of  Ruderick's  papers.  "  I  suppose  that 
word  '  wise  '  is  merely  a  technical  term  in  police 
parlance." 

"  That's  what  it  is,  Mr.  Cowles.  A  wise  man 
in  the  police  business  is  just  wise,  that's  all." 

''  You  have  some  acquaintance,  have  you,  with 
the  criminal  classes?  We  very  much  need  a  man 
who  understands  the  ways  of  thieves." 

"  Of  course,  I  don't  set  myself  up  as  anything 
extraordinary,  Mr.  Cowles,  but  you've  got  my 
record  in  those  papers.  I  certainly  ought  to 
know  something  about  the  criminal  classes." 

"  Well,  Mr.  MeKlowd,  I'll  take  your  name  into 
consideration,  and  notify  the  authorities  that  you 
have  made  application  for  the  position.  I  will 
send  you  their  decision  to-morrow.  Good  after 
noon,  sir." 


The  Great  Idea 
"  Good  afternoon,  Mr.  Cowles." 

Three  days  later  there  was  astonishment,  be 
wilderment  and  profanity  in  the  Under  World. 
Ruderick  MeKlowd  had  been  appointed  chief  of 
detectives  in  the  town  of  Cornville,  and  the  Under 
World  wondered  what  the  appointment  meant. 
When  inquisitive  the  Under  World  is  like  a 
child — it  walks  up  and  asks  questions — and 
Ruderick  MeKlowd's  office  was  besieged  by  guns 
who  desired  to  know  what  was  what  and  what  was 
"  doing."  Among  the  besiegers  were  three  who 
had  come  by  special  summons.  So  far  the  Great 
Idea  had  progressed  exactly  as  Ruderick  had 
hoped  it  would.  The  financial  value  of  the  idea 
was  still  to  be  demonstrated.  The  three  bad 
men  were  invited  into  Ruderick's  private  office, 
where,  by  judicious  questioning,  they  were  made 
to  declare  that  they  had  nothing  whatever  "  on  " 
and  had  not  done  any  business  in  the  town  since 
the  Reform  Administration  went  into  power,  and 
that  they  had  been  "  ditched "  by  Ruderick's 
idea,  and  were  sick  of  the  place  and  ready  to  quit 
it. 

To  all  of  this  Ruderick  listened  with  a  polite 
ness  which  was  exemplary  in  a  public  officer  and 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

an  old  friend.       When  they  had  finished,  his  re 
ply  too  was  exemplary  and  significant. 

"  Blokes,"  he  said,  "  I  ain't  much  on  chewin' 
the  rag,  but  I'm  more'n  a  little  glad  o'  what 
you've  told  me,  'n'  that  you're  sick  o'  the  town. 
I'm  particular  glad  you're  not  mixed  up  in  that 
tunnel  business  under  Englar's  bank.  The  fel 
lers  that's  done  that  has  got  to  choke  it  off — see? 
I  can't  stand  for  it.  Anythin'  else  'ts  been  done 
'fore  I  got  here  ain't  any  o'  my  business.  For 
yourselves  my  tip  as  an  old  pal,  since  you're  sick 
of  this  town,  is  to  get  shut  of  it  by  the  next 
rattler.  I'm  responsible  for  what's  done  here 
from  this  on,  an'  I'll  have  to  make  a  pinch  if  you 
hang  around,  so  you'd  better  try  a  mooch.  I 
guess  you've  made  your  pile  here  anyhow,  an' 
it's  time  't  you  get  your  graft  in  elsewhere.  I 
ain't  makin'  no  passes  at  you  nor  nothin',  but  if 
you  sprint,  you  can  catch  that  seven-thirty  this 
evenin'.  It  'ud  give  me  a  pain  to  see  you  here 
after  eight  o'clock  to-night.  So-long,  blokes; 
take  care  o'  yourselves !  " 


156 


III. 


Judge  Barwood  was  not  only  a  great  ad 
ministrator  wise  to  discern  the  spirit  of  his  coun 
try  beneath  the  letter  of  its  laws;  he  was  also  a 
great  attorney  wise  to  remember  the  letter  of  the 
law  and  of  his  oath  when  a  client's  interest  could 
be  served.  He  was  a  master  of  technicalities 
both  in  his  profession  and  in  the  art  of  life,  and 
had  the  name  of  being  able  to  go  with  impunity 
the  breadth  of  a  hair  closer  than  any  other  man 
in  Cornville  to  the  line  that  it  would  have  im 
periled  his  own  and  his  client's  liberty  to  cross. 
There  were  a  score  of  tales,  some  of  which,  per 
haps,  went  the  length  of  being  true,  of  legal  and 
extra-legal  stratagems  put  in  practice  by  him  to 
his  own  advancement  in  fortune  and  repute, 
and  to  the  encouragement  of  a  spirit  of  circum 
spection  in  and  about  Cornville;  and  it  was  said 
of  him  that  he  made  it  a  point  of  honor  never  to 
turn  away  and  never  to  fail  to  help,  and  to  profit 
by,  a  client. 

J57 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

One  evening — six  days  and  a  fraction,  to  be 
accurate,  after  Ruderick's  historic  warning  to  the 
three  bad  men — Judge  Barwood  was  summoned 
from  his  bed  by  an  importunate  visitor  who  made 
himself  agreeable  by  opening  his  business  with 
the  tender  of  a  retaining-fee.  The  fee  was  a 
bundle  of  fifty-dollar  notes;  the  man  was,  in  ap 
pearance,  perhaps  sixty  years  of  age,  powerful, 
deformed,  inordinately  slouch-hatted,  great- 
coated,  long-haired,  and  whiskered. 

"  The  bills  to  the  best  of  my  belief  are  gen-u- 
ine ;  your  beard,  to  the  best  of  my  belief,  is  not," 
said  the  lawyer ;  "  this  looks  to  me  like  a  fishy 
business." 

"  I  do  not  offer  you  the  beard  as  a  retainer,  I 
offer  you  the  bills." 

"  And  the  voice  in  which  you  offer  them  is  so 
far  from  being  your  own  that  you  make  me  doubt 
whether  the  bills,  however  gen-u-ine,  are  gen-u- 
inely  yours.  I  say  again  this  looks  like  a  fishy 
business." 

"  You  seem  to  be  a  person  of  some  penetra 
tion,"  said  the  visitor. 

"  If  you  had  not  thought  so  before  you  came 
you  would  not  be  here,"  said  the  lawyer. 

"  So  long  as  you  do  not  know  my  real  beard 
158 


The  Great  Idea 

and  real  voice  I  don't  care  how  well  you  know  my 
false  beard  and  false  voice.  As  for  the  money, 
you  may  take  it  or  leave  it !  " 

"And  that's  soon  said/'  replied  the  lawyer, 
laying  the  bills  on  the  table  between  him  and  his 
client  with  a  gesture  that  neither  took  them  nor 
left  them.  "  Try  a  seat,"  he  said,  standing  be 
fore  an  open  fire  and  toasting  a  costume  which 
was  ostentatiously  provisional.  "  Take  off  your 
coat  and  hat  and  make  yourself  at  home." 

Judge  Barwood  had  a  good  gray  eye  with  a 
twinkle  in  it,  and  the  accent  of  his  invitation  was 
jocular. 

"  I  am  much  more  comfortable  with  them  on ; 
the  room  is  cold,"  said  the  visitor. 

The  thermometer  on  the  jamb  of  the  door  reg 
istered  in  the  full  gaslight  seventy-three  degrees. 

"  Just  so,"  said  Barwood  appreciatively ;  "  and 
now  about  the  business." 

"  The  business  is  the  height  of  simplicity ;  I 
have  stolen  fifty  thousand  dollars;  for  personal 
reasons  I  object  to  any  one's  attempting  to  pur 
sue  me  and  to  take  away  the  money." 

The  visitor  also  had  a  good  gray  eye.  Also 
the  accent  of  his  announcement  was  the  least  in 
the  world  jocose. 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

"  And  that's  a  very  natural  objection  too," 
said  the  man  of  law.  "  The  plainest  way  to 
avoid  it  is  to  send  the  money  back." 

"  If  I  had  been  looking  for  the  plainest  way  I 
should  not  have  had  to  come  to  your  honor  for 
advice.  I  could  have  found  the  plainest  way  my 
self." 

The  two  pairs  of  good,  gray  eyes  looked  into 
one  another  with  appreciation. 

"  I  repeat,"  said  the  judge,  "  that  this  looks 
like  a  fishy  business.  And  what  is  very  much  to 
the  point  in  an  affair  of  this  magnitude,  that 
bundle  of  notes  on  the  table  is  too  small  to  be 
looked  at  without  discomfort." 

"  That  bundle  of  notes  is  not  a  small  fee  for 
listening  to  me  tell  you  that  I  have  stolen  fifty 
thousand  dollars.  That  is  all  I  have  asked  for  it. 
When  you  have  told  me  how  to  keep  the  fifty 
thousand  the  bundle  on  the  table  will  be  bigger." 

"  It  would  have  to  be  a  great  deal  bigger." 

"  Would  it  set  a  limit  to  its  bigness  if  the  man 
out  of  whom  the  fifty  thousand  comes  has  done 
you  dirt?  " 

There  were  not  a  great  many  men  in  Cornville 
from  whom  fifty  thousand  could  be  lifted.     Bar- 
wood's  face  took  on  a  look  of  intense  interest. 
160 


The  Great  Idea 

"Not  Englar?" 

"  Englar." 

Barwood's  face  broadened  into  a  grim  smile. 

"  You  are  quite  resolved  not  to  be  advised  to 
put  the  money  back?  " 

"Quite." 

"  It  is  really  my  duty  to  urge  the  point." 

"  You  have  urged  it." 

Barwood  with  the  grim  smile  still  lingering  on 
his  face  strode  for  a  time  up  and  down  the  room, 
an  incarnation  of  practical  intelligence  in  labor, 
in  a  dressing-gown.  He  came  at  last  to  a  halt 
in  his  former  station  before  the  fire. 

"  Could  you  steal  any  more? "  he  asked 
gravely. 

"  How  much  more,  for  example?  " 

"  Well ! — say  a  second  fifty  thousand.  You 
could  hardly  make  a  deal  with  less." 

"  I  have  stolen  a  second  fifty  thousand,"  said 
the  visitor,  drawing  a  considerable  parcel  from 
under  his  cloak  and  laying  it  on  the  table.  "  I 
calculated  myself  that  it  would  take  just  about  a 
second  fifty  to  protect  the  first." 

"  You  seem  to  be  a  client  of  great  fore 
thought,"  said  the  lawyer. 

"  It  needs  a  client  of  great  forethought  to  em- 
161 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

ploy  an  attorney  of  great  penetration,"  said  the 
visitor. 

"  It  is  only  left  to  settle  where  and  when  I 
am  to  let  you  know  what  I  have  done ;  I  suppose 
you  can  trust  yourself  not  to  get  caught,"  said 
Barwood. 

This  was  unkind :  the  Powers  That  Rule  were 
become  a  joke  in  Cornville,  and  Renshaw,  who 
had  been  Barwood's  rival,  was  the  point  of  the 
joke. 

"  I  can  trust  myself  a  good  deal  better  not  to 
get  caught  if  I  don't  trust  any  one  else  with  my 
address.  When  I  want  to  know  what  you  have 
done  I  will  come  and  ask  you.  Good  night,  Mr. 
Attorney." 

"  Good  night,  Mr.  Scamp." 

The  two  men  parted  with  mutual  respect  and 
good-will. 

Barwood  had  made  it  a  point  of  conscience  in 
the  conduct  of  his  life,  when  he  had  a  thing  to 
do  which  was  agreeable  to  himself  and  disagree 
able  to  some  one  else,  never  to  procrastinate. 
There  was  besides  another  reason  in  the  present 
case  for  dispatch.  It  did  not  enter  into  his  views 
for  his  client  that  Richard  Englar  should  not  have 
a  chance  to  keep  his  loss  unknown. 
162 


The  Great  Idea 

"  Mr.  Englar,"  he  said,  with  the  regret  which 
a  man  throws  into  his  voice  when  he  speaks  of 
the  misfortune  of  a  personal  enemy,  "  I  am  in 
formed  that  you  have  just  been  robbed  of  a 
hundred  thousand;  I  don't  know  whether  it  is 
true  or  not.  A  man  so  bundled  up  that  I  could 
make  nothing  of  him  visited  me  at  my  house  just 
now  and  told  me  so ;  he  added  that  you  could  not 
find  him,  and  that  if  you  did  find  him  the  money 
would  be  either  dissipated  or  spent  in  conducting 
his  defense.  If  you  guarantee  to  make  no  effort 
to  find  him  and  to  keep  the  affair  out  of  the  hands 
of  the  state,  he  offers  you  twenty-five  thousand; 
twenty-five  thousand  to  take  or  to  leave.  I  don't 
know  whether  this  offer  is  real  either,  nor  how  he 
expects  you  to  get  the  money; 'certainly  he  gave 
me  no  name  or  address.  He  told  me  nothing 
but  what  I  state  and  then  took  his  leave.  I  made 
no  attempt  to  lay  hands  on  him,"  concluded  the 
lawyer  dryly ;  "  I  didn't  want  to  deprive  you  of 
your  chance  of  recovering  twenty-five  thousand, 
nor  our  new  police  force  of  its  chance  of  distin 
guishing  itself."  .  .  . 

There  is  singularly  little  more  to  tell.  Englar 
and  his  board  of  directors  had  a  meeting  before 
daylight  that  morning,  ascertained  the  truth  and 
163 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

moved  motions  and  passed  resolutions.  They 
resolved  to  get  the  thief  if  they  could;  they  re 
solved  that  they  could  not  afford  to  let  twenty- 
five  thousand  slip  through  their  fingers;  they  re 
solved  for  the  present  to  keep  the  loss  concealed 
from  the  public  press  and  from  the  state.  They 
consulted  with  Judge  Barwood  and  instructed 
him  to  notify  his  client,  if  his  client  should  again 
enter  into  communication  with  him,  that  they 
had  taken  his  offer  under  advisement;  secretly 
they  employed  one  Ruderick  MeKlowd  to  find 
out  what  he  could  about  the  robbery.  Judge 
Barwood's  client  did  not  at  this  time  again  enter 
into  communication,  with  him;  and  Ruderick 
found  only  that  the  tunnel  by  means  of  which  the 
bank  had  been  entered  had  been  made  by  one 
Cannes  with  the  assistance  of  two  companions, 
named  Wadlow  and  Latane  respectively;  but  he 
soon  obtained  word  that  they  were  in  Philadel 
phia,  actually  in  detention  at  the  time  the  bank 
was  broken  into ;  there  had  been  a  national  con 
vention  at  Philadelphia  and  the  police  had  put 
the  three  bad  men  where  they  would  do  most 
good.  Of  their  whereabouts  since  their  release 
nothing  could  be  learned.  Englar  said  that 
Ruderick  was  as  big  an  ass  as  the  rest  of  the 
164 


The  Great  Idea 

Front  Office,  and  must  have  turned  fly  cop  be 
cause  he  could  not  make  a  living  as  a  thief;  an 
opinion  which  was  possibly  premature.  The  di 
rectors  of  the  bank  once  more  consulted  with 
Judge  Barwood  and  instructed  him  to  notify  his 
client,  if  his  client  should  again  enter  into  com 
munication  with  him,  that  they  accepted  his  offer. 
Some  days  afterward  they  bound  themselves, 
their  heirs  and  assigns  in  a  manner  and  form 
which  Barwood  thought  worth  twenty-five  thou 
sand  to  himself  and  his  night  visitor,  and  in  re 
turn  for  the  document  he  paid  that  amount. 

Two  nights  later  he  was  going  home  from  his 
office  in  the  dusk  when  a  quavering  voice  de 
manded  an  alms.  The  speaker  was  a  patched 
and  battered  figure;  a  decrepit  old  man,  wild- 
eyed,  and  wild-haired. 

"  It's  only  a  drink  I  want,"  repeated  the  beg 
gar,  as  he  shuffled  along  at  Barwood's  side. 
"  You  see  't  I'm  no  liar — I  don't  want  nothin'  to 
eat.  I  want  a  drink.  It  only  costs  a  dime,  boss." 

They  had  reached  a  stretch  of  field  through 
which  Barwood  was  wont  to  make  a  short  cut  to 
his  home,  and  as  he  left  the  sidewalk  and  turned 
into  the  field-path,  the  beggar  suddenly  straight 
ened  himself,  dropped  the  whine  in  his  voice,  and 
165 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

tapping  Barwood  familiarly  on  the  shoulder, 
said :  "  I  say,  Mr.  Attorney,  hand  over  that 
agreement  that  you  made  for  me  with  Englar." 

A  fortnight  later  Ruderick  was  discharged 
from  the  Cornville  force  for  drunkenness  and  in 
competence.  The  expectations  he  had  raised 
when  Chief  Cowles  engaged  him  he  had  not  ful 
filled.  Upon  his  discharge  he  paid  a  visit  to  Chi 
cago,  where  he  kept  a  safe-deposit  vault,  in  which 
he  placed  among  other  things  the  agreement 
which  Judge  Barwood  had  obtained  for  his  un 
known  client.  This  was  the  finishing  touch  in 
the  realization  of  the  Great  Idea. 


166 


FOUND  GUILTY. 
I. 

Among  the  graver  misfortunes  in  the  Under 
World  is  that  of  being  in  the  right  in  a  contest 
with  the  Powers  That  Rule.  When  a  man  adds 
to  this  misfortune  the  sheer  folly  of  pressing  his 
rights  offensively,  the  gods  have  abandoned  him. 
The  gods  had  abandoned  Howard  Slifer  even  in 
the  hour  of  his  triumph ;  from  the  first  his  humil 
iation  was  a  certainty ;  the  precise  time  and  man 
ner  of  it  only  were  left  in  doubt. 

Howard  Slifer  was  a  gentleman  of  the  Under 
World  who  allowed  it  to  be  generally  known  that 
any  one  who  asked  him  for  a  fight  would  get  it. 
A  sensitive  recognition  of  the  claims  of  other 
people  and  an  austere  respect  for  them  does  not 
belong  to  the  point  of  honor  in  the  Under 
World;  the  point  of  honor  in  the  Under  World 
is  for  the  most  part  concerned  with  a  man's  sen 
sitive  recognition  of  his  own  claims  and  his  deter 
mination  to  have  other  people  austerely  respect 
12  167 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

them ;  and  Howard  Slifer  was  punctiliously  hon 
orable.  He  was  possessed  of  considerable  sums 
of  ready  money,  kept,  with  some  trifling  excep 
tions,  in  strong-boxes,  the  formula  for  opening 
which  invariably  included  a  drill  and  a  bit  of 
dynamite.  The  trifling  exceptions  were  small 
matters  of  loose  coin  and  broken  rolls  of  bank 
notes  which  people  of  fortune,  who  had  had  no 
previous  acquaintance  with  Mr.  Slifer,  stood  and 
delivered  to  him  "  at  sight "  and  "  on  demand," 
and  by  a  solecism  in  their  business  habits  asked 
no  quittance  or  receipt.  His  physique  was  a 
patent  of  nobility  in  which  all  who  stood  might 
read  a  power  to  levy  taxes  and  to  assume  pos 
session  of  his  personal  estate  wherever  he  might 
find  it.  He  was  of  the  build  that  led  men  to  fol 
low  him  with  their  eyes  and  to  speculate  upon 
the  amount  of  "  punishment  "  he  could  take  and 
could  inflict,  and  while  they  speculated  they  re 
spected  him  greatly — him  and  his  man  servant, 
and  his  maid  servant,  his  ox  and  his  ass,  and 
everything  that  was  his. 

Captain  Brigstock,  of  the Precinct,  was 

not  a  man;  he  was  a  deputy  divinity,  and  re 
spected  nothing  except  the  arch-deputies,  his  of 
ficial  superiors.      Technically  there  were  sharp 
168 


Found  Guilty 

limitations  to  his  constitutional  powers  over  mere 
mortals,  but  in  practice  technical  distinctions  so 
seldom  obtruded  themselves  upon  his  notice  that 
his  sense  of  them  was  apt  to  become  quite  vague. 
What  the  precise  occasion  was  of  his  entering 
Mr.  Slifer's  domicile,  nobody  in  the  outer  world 
ever  plucked  up  courage  to  ask  him.  When  Sli- 
fer  was  asked,  he  said  that  the  captain  had 
dropped  in  unofficially,  on  "  private  business," 
and  added  no  comment  beyond  a  malign  grin. 
There  was  an  impression  in  the  outer  world  that 
the  captain  had  made  his  visit  expressly  at  a  time 
when  he  knew  Mr.  Slifer  was  not  at  home,  and 
that  Mr.  Slifer  had  returned  unexpectedly ;  what 
was  certain  is  that  the  captain  made  his  exit  from 
the  Slifer  domicile  in  unconventional  haste,  and 
that  no  mention  of  the  incident  was  ever  made  in 
the  public  prints.  He  had  reached  the  street 
from  a  second-story  window  through  which  he 
had  backed  with  such  violence  as  to  bring  away 
the  sash.  This  was  the  hour  of  the  haughty  Sli 
fer's  triumph,  and  the  hour  when  the  gods  aban 
doned  him. 

Three  weeks  afterward  there  occurred  a  man 
ifestation  of  esprit  de  corps  among  the  Powers 
That  Rule  which  it  was  not  pleasant  to  contem- 
169 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

plate.  Patrolman  Hooper,  of  Captain  Brigstock's 
precinct,  had  been  murdered  overnight  while 
on  duty;  and  not  only  in  Brigstock's  precinct 
but  throughout  the  city  the  force  was  of  one 
mind.  It  was  not  only  that  if  an  officer  on  duty 
is  not  safe,  not  a  man  of  them  was  safe;  there 
was  an  element  of  insult  and  effrontery  in  an  at 
tack  upon  a  patrolman  that  stirred  something 
more  in  his  associates  than  personal  fear;  it 
touched  their  corporate  pride. 

"  Somebody's  got  to  croak  for  this,"  Detective 
Swinton  declared  sententiously  to  a  group  of  his 
brother  "  sleuths."  "  I  don't  care  if  Hooper  was 
only  a  flatty.  He  was  a  copper,  and  we  fly  cops 
have  got  to  send  some  bloke  to  the  chair  for 
bastin'  him.  There's  a  push  o'  guns  in  this  town 
that  thinks  flatties  don't  count,  that  there  won't 
be  much  of  a  kick  when  one  of  'em  's  keeled  over, 
an'  they  '11  croak  some  of  us  fly  cops  before  long 
if  we  don't  learn  'em  a  lesson.  It  was  a  great 
bull  somebody  wasn't  croaked  for  the  killin'  o' 
Patrolman  Stimson  two  years  ago.  Stimson 
was  a  fool  'right  enough  to  go  up  against  the 
gang  that  did  him,  but  if  one  of  'em  had  croaked 
for  bastin'  him,  Hooper  'ud  be  alive  now.  I  tell 
you  guns  are  just  like  kids  when  it  comes  to  learn- 
170 


Found  Guilty 

in'  'em  anything.  If  they  see  't  ye  mean  busi 
ness  they  '11  crawl,  but  if  ye  monkey  with  'em, 
they  '11  t'row  ye  down.  There's  some  that  thinks 
that  guns  '11  act  on  the  level  with  coppers  whether 
they  got  to  or  not.  That's  damn  rot.  'Course 
there's  some  squarer  than  others,  but  I've  known 
all  kinds  for  twenty-five  years,  an'  I  give  it  to  ye 
straight,  they  ain't  built  to  like  us.  They  got 
the  same  class  feelin'  't  we  have,  an'  if  we  don't 
croak  one  of  'em  for  doin'  Hooper  they  '11  get  so 
nervy  that  coppers  '11  be  droppin'  in  their  tracks 
every  month.  They  got  to  be  called  down." 

The  law  for  the  Powers  That  Prey  is  that  it  is 
better  ninety-nine  guilty  men  should  escape  than 
that  one  innocent  man  should  suffer;  the  law  for 
the  Powers  That  Rule  is  that  an  example  must 
be  made.  The  Powers  That  Prey  must  suffer  as 
a  clan  for  an  offense  against  the  Powers  That 
Rule.  The  clan  must  give  up  its  offending  mem 
ber  or  must  stand  in  terror  and  uncertainty  of 
where  precisely  the  hand  of  the  force  will  strike. 
That  it  will  strike  somewhere  there  must  not  be 
the  slightest  doubt. 

The  orders  of  Captain  Brigstock  were  laconic 
and  smacked  of  his  divine  authority.  He  recog 
nized  no  impossibility  in  the  case ;  he  spoke  with 
171 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

the  accent  of  omnipotence;  he  said  simply: 
"  Find  him ;  I  don't  want  to  hear  a  word  about 
difficulties;  damn  the  difficulties;  I  want  him 
found."  There  were  for  the  moment  but  the 
slightest  indications  to  go  upon.  Hooper  must 
have  been  struck  from  behind,  must  have  turned 
upon  his  assailant  and  in  the  scuffle  lost  his  hel 
met.  At  least  he  had  been  stabbed  twice  in  the 
back  and  had  received  a  heavy  downward  blow 
in  the  temple,  from  which  his  helmet  would  have 
saved  him.  The  mainspring  of  his  watch  had 
been  broken  and  the  hands  marked  five  minutes 
past  four — thus  determining  almost  with  exact 
ness  the  moment  when  he  was  assaulted.  His 
assailant  had  been  hurt  and  could  be  traced  by 
blood-stains  to  a  sheltered  doorway  half  a  block 
distant,  where  he  had  seemingly  bound  up  his 
wounds  and  changed  his  clothes.  A  hundred 
other  details  were  reported,  but  for  three  days 
these  remained,  in  spite  of  the  command  of  de 
puted  omnipotence,  the  only  ones  that  were  sig 
nificant.  Then  came  a  statement  that  a  short 
time  before  his  death  Patrolman  Hooper  had  had 
a  difficulty  with  Howard  Slifer,  and  that  high 

words  had  been  exchanged 

It  is  said  that  Slifer  attempted  to  break  away 
172 


Found  Guilty 

when  he  found  himself  safe  within  the  walls  of 

the  station-house  in  the Precinct ;  he  was,  at 

all  events,  soundly  clubbed  before  he  was  locked 
in  his  cell.  The  blows  given  were  accurately 
measured  according  to  his  power  for  taking  pun 
ishment.  It  may  be  doubted  whether  Captain 
Brigstock  had  been  more  thoroughly  bruised 
when  he  measured  his  length  in  the  street.  It 
is,  perhaps,  a  chance  coincidence  that  the  captain 
was  present  while  Slifer  was  being  taught  the 
power  of  the  law. 

The  evidence  against  the  prisoner  was  worked 
up  with  systematic  vigor.  The  negative  evi 
dence  especially  was  significant:  it  could  not  be 
discovered  that  at  the  time  Patrolman  Hooper 
was  struck  down  the  prisoner  was  not  near  at 
hand.  Patrolman  Gundy,  in  a  misguided  mo 
ment,  opined  that  almost  at  the  precise  time  of 
the  murder  he  had  seen  the  prisoner  enter  a  house 
a  dozen  blocks  distant  from  the  scene  of  the  af 
fair.  The  outburst  of  disapproval  with  which 
this  statement  was  received  made  Patrolman 
Gundy  uncertain  first  about  the  precise  time,  then 
about  the  precise  man,  and  finally  about  whether 
or  not  he  had  seen  any  one.  Patrolman  Conard 
opined  that  at  a  quarter  to  five  he  had  passed  a 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

man,  who  might  be  the  prisoner,  within  a  block 
of  the  scene  of  the  affair.  The  captain  asked 
him  what  in  the  name  of  things  unprintable  "  his 
glims  were  for,"  and  told  him  pointblank  that  any 
one  not  an  ass  could  say  whether  a  man  that  he 
had  passed  was  the  prisoner  or  not;  and  Patrol 
man  Conard  became  certain  that  he  was  not  an 
ass,  and  certain  that  he  had  passed  the  prisoner, 
and  not  at  all  certain  that  the  hour  was  a  quarter 
to  five  or  a  quarter  to  four  or  to  three.  A  safe 
had  been  blown  open  in  the  building  immediate 
ly  in  front  of  which  Patrolman  Hooper's  body 
was  found,  and  the  prisoner's  method  of  collect 
ing  the  living  that  the  world  owed  him  was  well 
known.  There  were  a  number  of  other  people 
who  employed  the  same  method,  but  that  is  a  de 
tail.  The  abandoned  clothes  were  much  too 
short  in  the  arms  and  legs  for  the  prisoner,  and 
much  too  small  to  have  been  drawn  on  over  a  sec 
ond  suit;  but  clad  in  his  underclothing  only  it 
was  just  possible  he  could  squeeze  into  them ;  and 
the  less  perfectly  they  fitted  him,  the  better  the 
disguise.  And  at  the  time  he  was  stripped  and 
examined  in  his  cell  he  had  so  many  recent 
wounds  that  the  only  difficulty  was  to  decide 
which  of  them  his  captors  had  not  given  him. 


Found  Guilty 

The  indictment  before  the  grand  jury  was  se 
cured  by  evidence  which,  as  the  newspapers  said, 
was  so  "  overwhelmingly  convincing  "  that  mur 
der  in  the  first  degree  was  the  only  charge  permis 
sible.  The  district  attorney  publicly  compli 
mented  the  police  on  their  handling  of  the  case, 
and  declared  that  never  before  during  his  activ 
ity  as  public  prosecutor  had  he  known  of  a  mur 
derer  who  was  not  actually  seen  committing  the 
crime  being  brought  to  the  bar  of  justice  with 
proof  of  guilt  so  thoroughly  established  and  ably 
presented.  In  an  interview  with  a  representa 
tive  of  the  press,  he  said :  "  Captain  Brigstock's 
men  have  not  only  avenged  the  murder  of  their 
brother  officer,  they  have  demonstrated  afresh  the 
remarkable  ability  of  the  city's  police  force.  It 
is  no  light  matter  to  protect  a  city  as  large  as 
ours,  which  in  the  very  nature  of  things  becomes 
a  Mecca  and  Medina  for  criminals,  and  it  is  grati 
fying  to  know  that  our  safety  is  looked  after  by 
so  conscientious  a  band  of  officers." 

The  patrolmen  ordered  before  the  grand  jury 
not  only  distinctly  remembered  seeing  Slifer  in  the 
near  neighborhood  of  the  scene  of  the  crime  soon 
after  it  was  committed,  but  they  produced  the 
weapon  with  which  Hooper  had  been  struck 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

down,  and  showed  the  jury  several  rolls  of  bills, 
taken  from  Slifer's  pockets,  which  there  was  no 
doubt  were  part  of  the  plunder  he  had  secured  in 
the  safe  robbery.  Free  to  indulge  his  imagina 
tion  as  to  how  the  struggle  between  Hooper  and 
Slifer  took  place,  the  prosecuting  attorney  por 
trayed  the  villain  discovered  by  the  virtuous 
Hooper  in  the  act  of  blowing  open  the  safe,  or  in 
the  act  of  endeavoring  to  escape,  no  matter 
which.  The  intellectual  and  wholly  impatient 
jury,  who  had  business  of  their  own,  which  they 
were  not  attending  to,  saw  in  their  mind's  eye 
the  prosecuting  attorney's  vivid  picture,  saw  the 
villain  Slifer  blow  open  the  safe,  saw  him  make 
his  escape,  saw  the  devoted  Hooper  attempt  to 
arrest  him,  saw  the  struggle,  the  blows,  the  gleam 
of  the  knife.  Finally  they  saw  in  private,  with 
eyes  not  of  the  mind,  Slifer's  mishandled  body.  To 
add  force  to  these  specific  arguments,  Slifer's  rec 
ord,  both  as  "  peter-man "  and  convict,  was 
produced,  and  he  was  declared  to  be  one  of  the 
most  desperate  offenders  in  the  country.  There 
was  nothing  for  the  intellectual  and  wholly  im 
patient  jury  to  do  but  indict  him,  and  he  was 
bound  over  till  the  next  term  of  court. 


176 


II. 

Francis  Pirie  and  James  Schell  were  two  trav 
elers  of  the  Under  World  who  had  just  returned 
from  Europe  to  secure  fresh  letters  of  credit. 
They  had  made  the  fashionable  grand  tour  of  the 
Continent,  had  "  blown  themselves  "  at  the  Monte 
Carlo  "  crib,"  had  seen  wonderful  things  in  for 
bidden  Paris,  and  had  come  back  to  "  God's 
country  "  to  attend  to  business  until  their  bank 
accounts  should  permit  of  another  trip  abroad. 
Schell  had  suggested  while  they  were  in  Paris 
that  they  recoup  their  fortunes  on  the  spot  and 
avoid  the  seasickness  and  miscellaneous  locomo 
tion,  but  Pirie's  counsel  had  prevailed,  and  they 
arrived  in  "  God's  country  "  about  three  weeks 
previous  to  the  murder  of  Patrolman  Hooper. 

"  There's  dough  on  this  side  all  right,*  Pirie 
admitted  in  reply  to  Schell's  suggestion  that  they 
establish  themselves  in  the  French  capital,  "  but 
it  ain't  our  kind  o'  dough.  I  been  rubberin' 
round  pretty  strong  since  I  been  on  this  side,  an' 
I'm  next  to  how  the  money  market  stands  over 
177 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

here.  You  remember  that  fellow  from  Vienna 
't  I  borrowed  a  hundred  from  in  Rome,  an'  how 
he  kept  tellin'  me  to  be  sure  an'  return  it  by  the 
time  I  said  I  would?  Well,  he  shows  up  the 
whole  business.  He  was  a  nice  enough  bloke, 
an'  had  the  rocks  an'  all  that,  but  he  ain't  the  kind 
o'  bloke  that  lets  you  an'  me  live  an'  take  trips 
abroad.  When  he  figures  up  his  accounts  at  the 
end  o'  the  year,  everything  must  balance.  He'll 
have  a  whole  string  o'  items  jus'  called  '  man 
ain't  made  o'  wood/  but  he  knows  where  them 
contributions  went.  See?  Well,  it's  the  same 
all  over  Europe ;  they  all  got  to  know  where  and 
how  their  dough  went,  who  got  it,  and  what  they 
got  for  it.  It  'ud  kill  'em  to  figure  up  one  o'  the 
columns  in  their  account  books,  and  have  to  write 
after  it:  '  Gone,  an'  damn  me  if  I  know  where.' 
They've  got  dough,  but  they  ain't  got  no  dough 
to  lose  without  makin'  a  hell  of  a  beef  about  it. 
See  what  they  did  with  Bidwell  when  he  made 
that  Bank  o'  England  touch  in  the  early  seven 
ties.  Gave  him  life !  W'y,  them  Englishmen 
thinks  money  is  somethin'  sacred,  holy,  religious 
like.  I  gamble  a  thousand  that  old  bank  could  be 
touched  up  again  for  a  million  or  two,  but  they'd 
hang  the  bloke  that  done  it.  It's  not  like  that 
178 


Found  Guilty 

on  the  other  side :  ev'ry  year  there's  just  so  much 
dough  lyin'  around  loose  to  be  swiped,  an'  if  it 
ain't  swiped  it's  put  down  in  the  profit  column. 
It's  the  same  kind  o'  dough  that's  lookin'  for  cir 
culation  in  poker  games.  It  wants  to  keep  mov- 
in'  an'  changin'  hands,  an'  guns  is  there  to  give 
it  rope.  See?  It's  a  kind  o'  Providence !  " 

"  An'  the  coppers  is  there  to  make  the  guns 
trouble,"  retorted  Schell.  "  It's  all  right  about 
the  loose  dough,  but  how  about  the  loose  fly  cops? 
I'd  rather  take  my  chanst  with  ten  o'  these  Rube 
coppers  here  in  Paris  'n  with  one  o'  the  fly  elbows 
in  York." 

"  Aw,  everybody's  a  copper  on  this  side," 
urged  Pirie.  "  You  remember  that  gun  in  Ber 
lin  tryin'  to  make  a  get-away  after  he'd  picked 
the  Moll's  pocket,  an'  how  the  whole  street 
sprinted  after  him?  That's  the  way  they  do 
things  on  this  side — the  crowd  is  in  sympathy 
with  the  copper  an'  not  with  the  gun.  In  the 
States  they  give  a  gun  a  runnin'  chance,  an'  let 
the  copper  do  the  chasin'.  That's  what's  what 
an'  the  way  it  ought  to  be." 

The  morning  of  the  day  following  the  murder 
of  Patrolman  Hooper,  two  men  were  in  earnest 
179 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

conversation  in  a  gaudily  furnished  room  in  an 
up-town  hotel.  One  lay  on  the  bed  with  a  band 
age  around  his  head;  and  from  the  blood-stains 
on  the  clothes  it  was  evident  that  he  was  nursing 
a  wound ;  the  other  sat  at  the  bedside.  The  two 
were  registered  on  the  hotel's  books  as  coming 
from  Sydney,  Australia,  and  had  signed  the 
names,  Richard  Wamperson  and  Jackson  Mather. 

"  You  put  his  light  out  all  right,"  the  man  at 
the  bedside  remarked.  "  They  picked  him  up 
croaked." 

"  Serves  the  duffer  right,"  mumbled  the  inva 
lid.  "  Anybody  been  copped  out  yet?  " 

"  The  '  pipers  '  say — jes'  listen  to  my  furrin 
eddication! — that  the  police  have  pinched  that 
Michigan  bloke,  Slifer.  We  done  a  bit  with  him 
in  Cherry  Hill  eight  years  back — remember?  the 
bloke  'at  made  old  Brigstock  take  that  quick 
sneak  out  of  his  flat  one  day.  They're  goin'  to 
railroad  him  for  fair.  The  World  says  the  police 
found  the  weapon  on  him,  an'  the  Journal  claims 
't  he  had  some  o'  the  bank's  dough  in  his 
pockets." 

"  Them  newspapers  is  gettin'  real  wise.  What 
a  lot  they  do  know.  Seems  like  a  gun  can't  do 
nothin'  any  more  'thout  bein'  pinched  for  some- 
thin'  else !  " 

1 80 


Found  Guilty 

This  comment  was  certainly  ungrateful,  the  in 
valid  not  having  been  pinched  of  late  for  any 
thing.  More  than  that,  it  was  unintelligent :  the 
invalid  did  not  understand  the  arrangement  of 
things  which  makes  imaginative  "  news "  col 
umns  indispensable. 

"  I'd  sooner  be  pinched  for  what  I  didn't  do  'n 
what  I  done ;  it  riles  a  bloke's  sense  o'  justice  to 
be  accused  false  an'  helps  him  put  up  a  front,"  de 
clared  the  other.  "  But  you  kicked  in  Payree 
about  everybody  bein'  a  copper  in  Europe  an'  a 
gun  havin'  no  chance ;  what  do  you  call  the  news 
papers  in  this  country  but  coppers?  " 

"  Fly  ones,  ain't  they !  They  ain't  copped  out 
you  an'  me;  they're  as  dead  as  the  stiffs  in  the 
Front  Office!" 

"  They  say  Slifer  got  away  with  the  full  fifty 
thousand  'cause  they  only  found  a  few  rolls  on 
him.  They're  smart,  they  are !  They  think  he's 
made  a  plant  somewheres." 

"  Shows  you  how  dead  they  are.  They  know 
about's  much  who  copped  that  coin  as  Slifer  does. 
'Course  the  police  'a'  got  to  put  up  a  bluff  an'  V 
glad  to  pinch  anybody ;  but  you'd  think  them  pa 
pers  might  take  a  tumble  to  themselves  once  in  a 
while," 

181 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

"  Good  job  for  us  't  we  wasn't  mugged  that 
time  that  old  Freckleton  got  'is  glims  on  us. 
Three  years  ago,  ain't  it?  " 

"  Longer'n  that ;  an'  besides  old  Freck's 
croaked.  He's  the  only  man  on  the  force  't  knew 
us." 

"  Oh,  I  ain't  leary,  I  ain't;  but  it's  pie  to  take 
your  constitutional  without  everybody  rubberin'. 
Say,  I  guess  I'll  take  a  bit  of  a  leg-loosener  an' 
see  'bout  bankin'  that  dough  in  London.  That's 
where  we  need  it  in  our  business,  an'  the  sooner 
we  get  it  there  the  quicker.  We  want  to  mooch 
soon  as  you  can  stand  for  the  ante !  " 

"  A'  right,  but  don't  be  long — I'm  dead  to  the 
world  up  here  alone.  So-long!  " 

"  So-long." 

The  night  of  the  beginning  of  the  eighth  week 
after  the  murder  of  Patrolman  Hooper,  Francis 
Pirie  and  James  Schell  were  sitting  "  at  whisky  " 
in  a  fashionable  midnight  resort  on  Sixth  avenue. 
Pirie  should  have  been  at  home  and  in  bed ;  almost 
any  layman  could  have  told  him  that  he  was  grave 
ly  ill.  He  was  a  dime-novel  specter,  and  the  flesh 
had  drawn  back  on  his  bones  till  they  began  to 
stand  out  in  sharp  angles.  The  inference  of  an 
182 


Found  Guilty 

outsider  would  have  been  that  he  was  another 
of  the  victims  which  the  life  in  fashionable  mid 
night  resorts  sometimes  demands,  but  inferences 
made  by  outsiders  show  their  wit  and  not  their 
knowledge.  The  only  person  present  who  real 
ly  knew  what  was  what  was  James  Schell,  but  he 
would  not  have  admitted  this  even  to  Pirie.  There 
was  a  look  of  disgust  in  his  face  while  he  watched 
the  sick  man  reach  feebly  for  his  glass. 

"  It's  a  wonder  you  wouldn't  take  a  bracer. 
You've  been  belly-aching  around  these  joints  for 
the  last  two  months,  an'  I'm  gettin'  tired  o'  look- 
in'  at  you;  I  want  to  mooch  to  the  other  side. 
Any  one  'ud  think  that  that  copper  had  hit  you 
with  a  baseball  bat  the  way  you  play  the  baby  act. 
He  jus'  gave  you  a  love  tap  with  his  mace,  that's 
all." 

"  A  couple  o'  love  taps  like  that  'ud  'a'  put  out 
my  light  then  and  there,"  Pirie  answered  wearily. 
"  I'm  a  sick  man,  Schell." 

"  Sick  nothin'.  Why  the  devil  don't  you  stay 
to  home  if  you're  sick?  You  been  folio  win'  me 
about  for  the  last  eight  weeks  like  a  cur  purp.  I 
never  asked  you  to.  Stay  to  home  an'  nurse 
yourself  if  you're  so  knocked  up ;  I'm  agreeable ; 
I'm  gettin'  bally  tired  o'  hearin'  you  whine.  You 
13  '83 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

don't  need  to  be  afraid  o'  me;  I  ain't  goin'  to 
knock  against  you ;  nobody  '11  ever  find  out  from 
me  't  you  an'  that  flatty  couldn't  hit  it  off  to 
gether  ;  I  can  keep  as  dead  about  that  as  you  can. 
An'  I  ain't  goin'  to  do  you  out  o'  the  dough 
either.  You'll  get  all  that's  comin'  to  you  when 
we  get  to  London.  It's  banked  there,  an'  half 
of  it  is  yourn.  But  I  give  it  to  you  straight,  I'm 
goin'  to  give  you  the  chilly  mit  if  you  don't  stop 
doggin'  me  round  to  all  these  joints." 

"  You  give  me  the  chilly  mit?  " 

Pirie  sat  upright  in  his  chair  with  an  obvious 
effort.  The  hand  of  death  was  upon  the  man 
really,  but  he  had  his  grit  with  him. 

"  That's  what  I  said.  You're  all  right  when 
you  want  to  be,  but  I  won't  stand  for  any  more 
o'  this  shade  win'  me  about— see?  What  I  think 
is,  you're  bughouse." 

Merely  to  acknowledge  that  he  was  sick  was  a 
confession  which,  in  the  circumstances,  it  had 
cost  Pirie  more  than  Schell  realized  to  make ;  to 
sit  at  a  table  with  a  man  whom  he  had  looked 
upon  as  his  pal  and  hear  that  he  was  "  bug 
house  "  was  a  challenge  which  even  his  weakened 
state  could  not  keep  him  from  accepting. 

"  Take  that,  you  duffer !  "  he  hissed  between 
184 


Found  Guilty 

his  teeth,  and  threw  his  beer-glass  with  all  his 
might  at  Schell's  head. 

The  fight  was  over  before  the  attendants  could 
interfere.  Schell  tried  to  throw  Pirie  to  the 
floor,  and  Pirie  sent  a  bullet  through  his  heart. 
His  light  went  out  without  a  flicker. 


'85 


III. 

A  man  lay  dying  in  the  hospital  ward  of 

Prison.       Captain  Brigstock  of Precinct 

sat  beside  his  couch. 

"  Scheduled  to  croak  all  right— ain't  I?  Raise 
me  up  a  bit,  Cap.  Thanks." 

"  That's  what  they  call  it,  Pirie." 

"  Well,  Cap,  I  might  as  well  tell  you  now  as 
later.  You  got  the  wrong  bloke  in  that  Hooper 
business.  Slifer  didn't  do  Hooper.  Give  me 
some  more  o'  that  dope  there — quick — I — I — am 
— dyin'.  Lord  but  it's  a  dirty  job  to  die :  an'  me 
too— I  die  bad.  That's  why  I'm  tellin'  you." 

The  stimulant  revived  him  for  a  moment. 

"Say,  Cap — me  an'  Schell — you  listenin'? — 
put  it  on  paper,  blokey ;  I'm  gettin'  kind  o'  weak 
in  me  tubes ;  got  the  pencil  there? — Me  an'  Schell, 
we  croaked — gettin'  it  down?  we  croaked 
Hooper ;  me  in  front  with  a  billy  when  his  helmet 
dropped  off,  an'  him  behind  with  a  knife.  That 
stuff  in  the  papers  was  rot.  An'  Schell,  I  put 
his  light  out,  damn  him :  he  tried  to  do  me  out  o' 
the  dough.  That's  why  I'm  here.  See?" 

186 


Found  Guilty 

His  mind  was  wandering. 

Brigstock's  pencil  paused  and  Brigstock  him 
self  took  it  for  a  sign  of  some  special  care  of 
Providence  for  him  that  Pirie's  confession  had 
been  made  to  no  one  else.  What  kind  of  Provi 
dence  would  naturally  choose  him  out  to  care  for, 
and  whether  in  highest  heaven  or  deepest  the 
other  place,  he  had  not  leisure  at  the  moment  to 
inquire. 

"  Where's  the  dough  planted?  "  he  asked. 

The  sick  man's  eyelids  fluttered  open,  but  with 
no  recognition  of  Captain  Brigstock  or  of  his 
question;  there  was  a  great  light  of  anger  and 
pain  in  the  eyes,  and  the  lips  drew  back  from  the 
strong  discolored  teeth. 

"  You  give  me  the  chilly  mit !  "  he  almost 
shouted,  half  rising  in  bed :  "  Take  that,  you 
duffer !  "  and  he  flung  himself  bodily  on  Captain 
Brigstock. 

It  was  quite  true  Pirie  died  bad.         .         . 

That  evening  Brigstock  in  his  lodgings  medi 
tated  afresh  on  the  special  care  of  Providence. 
At  the  end  of  his  meditations,  which  he  had  as 
sisted  by  striding  up  and  down  the  room,  he  knelt 
by  the  open  fire  and  tore  out  and  burned  certain 
leaves  from  his  notebook. 


187 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

The  night  of  New  Year's  day,  some  ten  months 
after  the  murder  of  Patrolman  Hooper,  Howard 

Slifer  sat  in  his  cell  in Prison,  and  talked 

through  the  bars  of  the  cell  door  with  his  "  death- 
watch."  The  evidence  given  at  the  time  of  his 
indictment  had  been  repeated  with  additions  at 
the  time  of  his  trial,  and  among  those  additions 
the  confession  of  Francis  Pirie  was  not  found. 

"  You  hear  what  I'm  tellin'  you,  Jackson," 
Slifer  said  that  night ;  "  I  ain't  turnin'  soft  an' 
kickin'  'bout  goin'  to  the  chair:  not  me!  It's 
up  to  me  to  sit  in  it,  that's  straight.  An'  I've  done 
enough  to  deserve  croakin'  ten  times  over;  but, 
Jackson,  it  ain't  up  to  me  to  stand  for  the  killin' 
o'  Hooper.  I  didn't  do  it.  Course  the  evidence 
don't  look  that  way,  an'  they  think  that  they've 
got  me  dead  to  rights;  but  that  jus'  shows  how 
bughouse  some  o'  the  things  in  this  world  are. 
Jackson,  if  Hooper  could  get  up  out  of  his  grave 
now,  he'd  say, '  Slifer  didn't  do  it.'  I  don't  mind 
croakin'  for  anythin'  I  done,  but  I  hate  like  hell 
to  croak  for  somethin'  I  didn't." 


188 


ON  SENTENCE  DAY. 

Some  had  waited  nearly  a  year,  others  for  sev 
eral  months,  others  for  but  a  few  weeks.  The 
jail  was  old,  and  inside  and  outside  looked  much 
as  it  did  in  1840,  when  it  was  built.  Tramps 
liked  it  on  account  of  the  roomy  corridor  where 
they  were  permitted  to  lounge  in  the  daytime, 
and  because  the  prisoners  cooked  their  own  food. 
The  raw  materials  for  the  meals  were  passed  into 
the  jail  through  a  little  window  in  an  iron  door, 
and  the  men  took  turns  in  cooking.  The  cells 
were  placed  above  the  corridor,  and  at  night  the 
sheriff  came  and  locked  us  in  until  morning.  We 
numbered,  all  told,  nineteen  men  and  boys,  six 
teen  of  whom  were  court  prisoners  who  had  stood 
their  trials  and  were  waiting  for  their  sentences. 
The  remaining  three,  including  Ruderick  Me- 
Klowd  and  myself,  had  had  their  punishment 
meted  out  to  them  by  the  wisdom  of  a  local  mag 
istrate,  and  were  serving  it  out  then  and  there. 

Ruderick  and  I  had  been  unfortunate  enough 
189 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

to  fall  asleep  in  a  box  car  in  the  local  railway 
yards,  and  the  magistrate  before  whom  we  were 
brought  had  been  inspired  to  make  an  example 
of  us.  "  I  want  you  men  to  learn  to  sleep  where 
civilized  people  sleep,"  he  explained;  "it  is  pos 
sible  that  you  need  a  little  training  to  get  into 
the  habit  again,  and  I  shall  send  you  over  to  the 
sheriff  for  a  month.  If  you  behave  yourselves, 
you  will  find  him  an  agreeable  host."  We  be 
haved  ourselves,  and  found  the  sheriff  an  agree 
able  host,  but  he  took  the  most  interest  in  what 
he  called  the  "  transients  " — the  men  whom  Jus 
tice  had  weighed  in  her  balance  and  found  want 
ing — to  a  degree  which  she  had  not  yet  taken 
off  her  bandage  accurately  to  ascertain.  They 
presented  a  subject  of  speculation  and  mystery 
which  we  did  not,  and  in  return  for  the  interest 
they  gave  him  the  sheriff  offered  them  gruff  lit 
tle  courtesies  which  he  hoped  would  help  some 
what  to  keep  their  minds  off  their  coming  ordeal. 
Some  of  them  were  culprits  of  long  standing, 
men  who  had  taken  their  "  stretchers,"  as  they 
called  their  terms  in  prison,  regularly  and  with 
out  flinching,  but  none  of  them  knew  what  his 
next  "  stretcher  "  was  to  be.  Some  of  them  were 
lads  sure  to  go  to  the  reform  school ;  and  all  of 
190 


On  Sentence  Day 

them,  men  and  lads,  were  to  retire  from  the  world 
for  a  certain  period — but  how  long?  The  limit 
that  each  of  them  could  get  was  well  known,  but 
no  one  believed  that  he  deserved  or  would  get 
the  limit. 

Prisoners  the  world  over  feel  that  the  fact  that 
they  have  been  caught  at  all  is  a  punishment,  and 
justifies  them  in  expecting  a  compromise  with 
the  judge  who  is  to  sentence  them.  If  detection 
itself  is  a  punishment,  any  further  discipline 
ought  to  be  measured  according  to  the  disap 
pointment  and  chagrin  which  the  detection  has 
caused.  This  is  irrational,  but  all  men  are  irra 
tional  according  to  their  opportunities.  It  was 
the  uncertainty  as  to  how  far  Justice,  in  the  per 
son  of  "  the  old  man,"  would  be  willing  to  com 
promise  on  this  basis  that  kept  the  men  on  a 
strain.  Morning,  noon  and  night  the  constant 
word  was :  What  will  "  the  old  man  "  do?  The 
first  thing  we  heard  even  before  the  sheriff  had 
let  us  out  for  the  day  was  the  call  from  cell  to 
cell  of  the  men  to  be  sentenced  that  they  were 
twelve  hours  nearer  the  appointed  time.  Even 
during  the  night  mutterings  reached  Ruderick 
and  me  from  the  men  who  had  been  waiting 
longest.  One  night  we  heard  an  old  man  of  sev- 
191 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

enty,  who  might  have  been  the  grandfather  of 
nearly  all  of  us,  cry  out  in  his  sleep :  "  Make  it  a 
year,  Judge,  just  an  even  year  " ;  and  he  threw 
into  the  words  all  the  pleading  and  pathos  that 
he  could  have  commanded  had  he  been  awake. 

At  last  the  morning  came  when  Justice  was  to 
take  off  her  bandage,  and  the  sheriff  told  his 
wards  that  they  must  hold  themselves  ready  to 
go  to  the  court-room  at  any  moment.  He  was 
not  sure  himself  of  the  exact  time  when  his  honor 
would  call  for  them,  but  he  cautioned  them  to 
be  quick  in  responding  to  the  call  when  it  came. 
Every  one  rushed  to  his  cell  to  get  his  clothes  in 
order.  "  Want  the  old  man  to  see  me  in  my  best/' 
one  said,  and  the  others  followed  him  up  to  the 
cell  gallery  and  began  to  overhaul  their  scant  sup 
ply  of  "  togs."  They  discussed  the  merits  of  a 
patched  waistcoat  or  a  frayed  necktie  as  women 
do  the  most  delicate  finery.  "  How  d'  you  think 
th'  old  man  '11  like  this?  "  a  man  called  "  Bony  " 
said,  holding  up  a  coat. 

"  Get  it  sterilized,  Bony ;  it's  full  o'  graybacks ; 
th'  old  man  '11  give  you  de  limit  if  they  get  to 
paradin'  around  the  court-room,"  another  re 
marked,  not  untruthfully. 

"  How  d'  you'se  think  this  white  rag  '11  take?  " 
192 


On  Sentence  Day|  UNIVERSIT 

V^  OF 

queried  still  another,  dubbed  "  Jet  Eyes,"  exMb-  ' 
iting  a  "  boiled  "  shirt  which  he  had  kept  under 
his  pillow  for  weeks  for  fear  it  would  be  "  swiped." 

"  Keep  it  to  swing  in,  Sammy, "advised  his  cell 
mate.  "  It's  too  good  jus'  to  get  two  years  in. 
Put  it  in  a  safety  vault  till  croakin'  time  comes." 

In  an  hour  they  had  all  put  on  their  best,  and  a 
dress  rehearsal  in  the  corridor  was  in  order.  One 
of  the  oldest  prisoners  was  appointed  judge,  and 
the  men  lined  up  in  front  of  him.  This  was  play, 
and  in  a  measure  comedy,  but  not  wholly  so :  the 
culprits  expected  to  catch  from  the  mock  judge 
and  the  mock  sentence  some  omen  of  what  their 
fate  was  to  be.  The  judge  carried  off  his  part 
with  impressive  dignity  and  severe  eyebrow.  He 
had  borrowed  a  clean  collar  and  a  sky-blue  neck 
tie  for  the  occasion;  he  had  absolutely  refused 
to  officiate  except  in  costume.  The  men  prac 
tised  attitudes  and  gestures  which  they  expected 
to  use  with  effect  later  in  the  day. 

"  Hungry,"  he  said,  in  a  voice  which  was 
proper  to  the  majesty  of  the  law,  to  the  man  at 
the  head  of  the  line,  "  you  was  caught  in  de  act, 
wasn't  you?  Now,  that  means  bunglin'.  Blokes 
what  knows  their  business  don't  get  pinched  in 
de  act.  But  you'se  gettin'  old,  Hungry.  We  all 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

knows  that.  You  must  be  nearly  fifty.  De  law 
says  that  for  what  you  done  I  ough'  to  give  you 
fifteen  years,  but  I  don't  b'lieve  you'll  last  that 
long.  You'se  got  so  many  diseases  you'se  goin' 
to  croak  before  a  great  while.  Now,  it  ain't  right 
to  give  a  man  life  for  bunglin',  an'  that's  what  it 
'ud  be  if  I  gave  you  what  de  law  says.  I'm  goin' 
to  be  square  with  you;  I'm  goin'  to  give  you  a 
chanst  to  die  outside.  You'se  good  for  about 
two  years  yet,  'f  you  take  care  o'  yourself,  so  I 
sentence  you,  Hungry,  to  eighteen  months  to  de 
penitentiary." 

"  Thank  y',  yer  honor,"  said  Hungry,  bow 
ing  awkwardly. 

A  faint  murmur  of  approval  and  applause  arose 
in  the  audience. 

"  Silence  in  de  court,"  cried  Rhadamanthus, 
with  truculent  majesty ;  "  bring  up  de  next  pris 


oner." 


He  was  a  boy  of  eighteen,  called  "  Eddie," 
who  had  been  convicted,  in  company  with  an 
older  companion,  of  burglary. 

"  Kid,"   the   mock   judge   went  on,    "  you'se 

started  out  too  fast.     You'se  too  young  to  do 

climbin'.     If  I  sent  you  to  de  penitentiary  you'd 

learn  a  good  deal,   but  you'd  get  your  head 

194 


On  Sentence  Day 

turned  taikin'  with  de  men,  an'  you'd  tackle  too 
big  jobs  for  your  years  an'  experience  when  you 
got  outside  again.  If  you'se  goin'  to  be  an 
A  Number  One  gun,  Kid,  you  wan'  to  go  t'rough 
your  apprenticeship ;  you  wan'  to  begin  at  the  be- 
ginnin',  and  a  good  place  to  do  that  is  in  de  Ref 
— all  fly  crooks  has  been  trained  in  de  Ref — so 
I  sentence  you  to  de  Ref  till  you're  twenty-one. 
But  I'll  be  square  with  you,  too.  I  won't  con 
sider  it  '  any  reflekshun  on  my  connection  with 
de  case/  as  de  old  man  'ud  say,  if  you  run  away 
'fore  your  time's  up." 

"  Don'  send  me  to  the  Ref,  yer  honor ;  I  bin 
to  the  Ref,  an'  it's  nothin'  but  a  kids'  joint;  / 
can't  learn  nothin'  there." 

He  went  through  the  line  of  men  and  boys; 
sometimes  the  scene  being  comical,  and  some 
times  pathetic.  The  rehearsal  finished,  the  crowd 
broke  up  into  little  groups.  Some  of  them  gath 
ered  around  the  table,  others  took  their  stand 
near  the  iron  door,  impatient  for  the  sheriff  to 
call  them.  Ruderick  and  I  took  seats  on  a  bench 
in  one  of  the  corners,  and  the  boy  "  Eddie  "  and 
his  pal  strolled  up  and  down  the  corridor.  His 
pal  urged  him  to  take  advantage  of  his  boyish 
appearance  and  try  to  get  a  reform-school  sen- 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

tence.  "  You  can  run  away  after  you'se  been 
there  awhile,"  the  man  said,  "  an'  then  you'se  free. 
—See?" 

"  Damn  the  Ref,"  the  lad  replied.     "  I'm  goin' 
to  the  Pen." 

"Know  that  kind  o'  kid?"  Ruderick  asked, 
nodding  in  the  direction  of  the  two  when  they 
had  passed  out  of  ear-shot.  "  I  can  read  his  fu 
ture  for  you.  Did  I  ever  tell  you  'bout  the 
Michigan  Kid?  It  began  way  back  in  '77,  when 
I  was  doin'  a  bit  for  the  state,  havin'  done  an' 
bungled  a  bit  for  myself.  The  jail  was  over  in 
Pennsylvania,  an'  one  day  the  sheriff  brought  in 
a  young  fellow  who'd  been  bound  over  for  bitin' 
off  more'n  he  could  chew,  which  is  grand  larceny. 
They  caught  him  red-handed.  He  was  a  nice, 
plucky-lookin'  little  chap,  an'  I  saw  right  away 
't  he  was  new  to  the  business.  He  didn't  have 
much  of  a  story  to  tell  at  the  time;  p'r'aps  that 
was  why  he  wouldn't  tell  it.  I  found  out  later, 
however,  that  his  father  was  a  swell  lawyer  over 
in  Michigan,  an'  his  people  had  sent  him  to  a 
boarding-school,  an'  he'd  mooched.  His  money 
gave  out,  an'  he  done  the  touch,  or  tried  to  do  it, 
to  get  some  dough.  He  was  not  quite  seventeen 
196 


On  Sentence  Day 

then — a  tenderfoot  as  far  as  you  could  see  him. 
He'd  been  with  the  hoboes  a  little  before  he  got 
pinched,  an'  knew  some  o'  their  lingo;  but  jus* 
the  way  he  shaped  up  an'  asked  us  all  when  he 
first  come  in  what  we  was  l  shut  up  '  for,  was 
enough  to  put  us  next. 

"  Well,  I  liked  him  just  'cause  he  was  a  tender 
foot.  Wise  kids  is  interestin'  an'  all  that,  but 
you  don't  always  like  'em,  just  as  you  don't  al 
ways  like  wise  blokes.  It  takes  all  kinds  o'  peo 
ple  to  make  the  crooks'  world,  same  as  to  make 
the  good  people's  world,  an'  there's  been  tender- 
feet  't  I've  liked  better'n  anybody  else.  I  forgot 
what  the  Kid  told  me  his  name  was — prob'ly 
didn't  remember  to  give  me  the  right  one,  any 
how — but  I  jus'  called  'im  the  Kid.  I  call  him 
that  still,  but  I  guess  I'm  the  only  one  that  does 
it.  He's  a  pretty  big  stiff  to-day,  an'  everybody 
can't  slap  'im  on  the  back.  I  sort  o'  brought  'im 
up,  you  know,  an'  he  ain't  one  o'  them  that  for 
gets  things — except  his  name. 

"  'Course  I'm  proud  't  he's  turned  out  a  fly 
bloke,  but  things  was  different  when  I  first  got  to 
chewin'  th'  rag  with  him  in  that  jail ;  I  tried  to 
persuade  him  to  go  home.  I  told  him  to  write  to 
his  gov'nor  an'  get  the  thing  fixed  up.  I  can't 
197 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

tell  you  exactly  why  I  done  it,  but  it's  God's  truth 
that  even  now — an'  I  ain't  no  chicken — passed 
my  forty-eighth  birthday  last  month — yes,  sir, 
even  now  I  hate  to  see  a  kid  who's  been  brought 
up  decent  hit  the  road.  With  me  't  was  differ 
ent.  Both  my  old  folks  was  crooks,  an'  I  never 
had  a  home  anyhow.  Stealin'  came  natural  to 
me,  an*  Chicago,  where  I  was  born,  made  me 
wise.  If  a  man's  got  a  bent  for  swipin',  Chicago 
'11  tell  him  how  to  get  his  graft  in.  You  know 
that  as  well  as  I  do.  New  York  ain't  no  saint, 
neither — some  mighty  good  thieves  have  come 
out  o'  that  town — but  if  a  kid  is  lookin'  for  a  place 
to  get  dead  wise,  let  him  railroad  for  dear  old  Chi. 
I  like  the  place,  God  knows,  but  it's  crooked — 
crooked  as  a  fish-hook. 

"  Well,  this  kid  't  I'm  tellin'  you  about,  he  lis 
tened  to  me  all  right,  but  he  wouldn't  write  to  his 
gov'nor.  He  was  stuck  on  himself — see? — an' 
right,  too.  '  I  wouldn't  have  the  gov'nor  find 
me  here,'  he  says, '  'f  I  had  to  take  ten  years  in  the 
Pen.'  Well,  I  didn't  know  anythin'  better'n  to 
tell  him  to  ask  the  judge  to  send  him  to  the  Ref. 
I  know  what  the  Ref  is  as  well  as  the  next  bloke ; 
I  know  that  it's  where  a  lot  o'  kids  gets  wise. 
Old  Fraxy,  when  he  was  makin'  believe  sen- 
198 


On  Sentence  Day 

tencin'  Eddie  a  few  minutes  ago — he  told  the 
truth.  The  Ref's  the  place  where  a  thief  goes 
through  his  'prenticeship.  Jus'  the  same,  I'd 
rather  see  a  kid  o'  mine  take  his  chances  in  the 
Ref  than  in  the  Pen,  an'  I  gave  it  to  that  kid 
straight.  I  told  him  what  he'd  find  at  the  Ref 
an'  what  he  wanted  to  steer  clear  of,  an'  then  I 
explained  to  him  how  he  could  get  a  mooch  on 
an'  give  the  shop  the  slip.  He  was  a  nervy  kid, 
an'  there's  mighty  few  Refs  't  a  nervy  kid  need 
stop  in  if  he's  got  a  hankerin'  for  the  open.  W'y, 
they  had  me  in  a  Ref  when  I  was  twelve  years 
old,  an'  I  didn't  stay  there  a  week.  They  got  me 
back  after  a  while,  but  I  mooched  again,  an* 
they're  lookin'  for  me  yet. 

"  Well,  the  judge,  he  gave  the  Kid  what  I  told 
him  to  ask  for.  I'd  explained  to  the  Kid  how  he 
wanted  to  put  in  his  plea  when  the  judge  asked 
him  if  he  had  anythin'  to  say  why  the  court 
shouldn't  pronounce  sentence  on  him,  an'  he  got 
off  his  song  an' dance  all  right.  I  can  hear  the  Kid 
now  when  he  came  back  to  the  jail.  He  came 
up  to  me  an'  said :  '  Ruderick,  if  I  can  beat  that 
school,  I'm  goin'  home  to  the  gov'nor.  You've 
done  me  a  good  turn,  do  you  know  it? '  'Course 
I  jollied  him  along  a  little  an'  told  him  not  to  get 
14  199 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

too  Sunday-schooly  all  of  a  sudden  when  he  got 
home,  an'  the  next  day  the  sheriff  took  him  away. 
An'  for  the  next  three  years  Ruderick  MeKlowd 
used  to  pat  himself  on  the  back  every  now  an' 
then  when  he  thought  o'  the  Kid.  I  pictured 
him  at  home,  you  know,  livin'  with  his  gov'nor, 
goin'  to  school,  fallin'  in  love  with  nice  girls,  an* 
gettin'  to  be  one  o'  the  town's  promisin'  young 
men.  I  had  to  do  a  bit  in  the  Pen  about  eighteen 
months  after  the  Kid  was  sent  to  the  Ref,  an' 
whenever  I'd  get  real  down  in  the  mouth  like 
about  the  latter  end  o'  things  an'  what's  what,  I 
used  to  say  to  myself :  *  Well,  Ruderick,  you 
did  that  kid  a  good  turn  anyhow,'  an'  I'd  brace 
up.  I  remember  once  wakin'  up  in  the  middle  o' 
the  night  out  of  a  dream.  I'd  been  up  in  heaven, 
an'  Peter  he  wouldn't  let  me  pass  the  gates. 
1  You're  a  bad  lot,  Ruderick,'  he  says ; '  I  couldn't 
let  you  in  'f  you  was  me  own  son.'  I  remember 
't  I  said  to  him,  as  well  as  if  I'd  said  the  words 
out  loud:  'Peter,'  I  says,  'ain't. you  forgettin' 
that  good  mark  't  I  got  for  bein'  square  with  that 
kid,'  an'  then  I  woke  up.  I'm  just  tellin'  you 
this,  you  know,  so's  you  can  understand  how 
things  was." 

There  was  a  pause  in  Ruderick's  narrative,  and 

200 


On  Sentence  Day 

the  bolts  of  the  iron  door  of  a  place  quite  other 
than  heaven  were  shot  back  to  remind  us  how 
far  from  heaven  we  were.  Every  one  thought 
that  the  judge  had  sent  for  the  men  to  be  sen 
tenced,  but  it  was  a  false  alarm.  The  turnkey 
had  a  letter  to  deliver  to  one  of  the  court  prison 
ers,  and  we  separated  into  groups  again;  and 
Ruderick  knotted  the  broken  thread  of  his  rem 
iniscences. 

"  Are  you  listenin'?  "  he  asked. 

"  Sure,"  I  replied.  A  man  cooped  up  is  in 
terested  in  everything;  if  he  wasn't,  he'd  go  off 
his  head. 

He  continued: 

"  About  three  years  after  meetin'  the  Kid,  I 
got  settled  in  the  Pen  across  the  river  from  this 
town  where  we  are  now.  The  same  judge  had 
hold  o'  me  once  before,  an'  he  was  hostile  an' 
gave  me  five  years;  I  guess  I'd  earned  it.  The 
place  began  to  get  crowded  after  I'd  been  there 
about  a  year,  an'  we  had  to  double  up,  an'  who 
do  you  think  they  gave  me  for  a  cell  companion? 
That  kid!  There  he  was  with  his  hair  cropped 
an'  the  stripes  on  'im;  I  knew  him  the  minute 
they  shoved  him  into  the  cell. 

"  '  Kid/  I  says,  '  this  ain't  reg'lar ;  how'd  this 
happen?  Did  the  gov'nor  cut  up  rough? ' 

201 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

" '  Ruderick,'  he  says,  '  I  never  went  back  to 
the  gov'nor.  I  done  as  you  tole  me  an'  mooched 
from  the  Ref — mooched  the  second  week.  But 
they  got  me  again.  A  farmer  't  I  went  to  for 
breakfast  the  mornin'  after,  he  sent  for  the  cop 
per  at  the  Ref,  an'  they  took  me  back.  The 
super  gave  me  a  lickin'  for  fair,  an'  told  me  'f  I 
give  him  the  slip  again  he'd  stick  me  in  the  dun 
geon.  Well,  I  seen  kids  bigger'n  me  come  out 
o'  the  dungeon;  I  ain't  a  baby,  but  I  couldn't 
stand  for  it — I  ain't  goin'  to  lie  about  it.  I  stayed 
there  a  year,  an'  got  to  be  one  o'  the  boss  kids 
o'  the  shop.  An'  you  know  what  that  means, 
Ruderick,'  he  says;  'the  kids  that  ain't  bosses 
look  up  to  you  an'  think  you're  a  dead  fly  bloke. 
They  keep  crackin'  you  up  as  a  perfessional,  an' 
after  a  while  you  begin  to  think  yourself  that 
you're  hot  stuff.  That's  the  way  it  went  with  me, 
anyhow,  and  at  the  end  o'  the  year  I  didn't  think 
any  more  'bout  goin'  back  to  the  gov'nor.  I'd 
made  up  my  mind  't  I  would  be  hot  stuff  an'  a 
perfessional ;  an'  one  night  another  boss  kid  an' 
me,  we  jumped  out  one  o'  the  windows  an'  got 
away.  He  knew  of  a  place  where  there  was 
semoleons  lyin'  loose,  an'  we  went  an'  got  'em, 
an'  I  been  hittin'  it  up  that  way  ever  since.  He's 

202 


On  Sentence  Day 

in  here  too.  We  got  pinched  for  goin'  on  the 
dip,  an'  the  judge  gave  us  both  three  years.  I 
thought  they'd  put  us  together,  but  they  didn't. 
He's  in  the  cigar  factory,  an'  I'm  over  in  the 
foundry.  Gosh,  it's  hard  work  in  that  foundry, 
Ruderick.  The  guard's  got  it  in  for  me  too. 
He  does  me  every  time  he  gets  a  chance.  I've 
been  in  the  dungeon  twice  already.' 

"  Well,  I  don't  need  to  tell  you  how  I  felt- 
that  kid  't  I'd  been  bankin'  on!  I  suppose  I 
ought  to  'a'  braced  him  up  again  an'  talked  to 
the  warden  about  him  an'  got  his  gov'nor  on  his 
track,  but  a  fellow  like  me  ain't  good  for  two 
stabs  at  reformin',  an'  I  done  just  the  opposite. 
A  man's  skill  aches  in  him  till  he  gets  it  out,  jus* 
like  the  right  words  for  a  thing,  an'  I  trained  him 
to  be  a  perfessional.  I  didn't  do  it  right  away. 
For  nearly  six  months  I  kept  squeezin'  my  brains 
to  figure  out  what  I  ought  to  do,  but  it's  a  temp 
tation  to  a  fellow  like  me  to  have  a  chance  to 
make  a  good  thief  out  of  a  smart  kid.  I  don't 
know  if  you've  ever  been  in  the  same  fix  yourself, 
but  to  me  sometimes  the  temptation  to  hand  on 
what  you  know  's  worse'n  whisky.  You  see,  I've 
always  been  a  crook,  an'  I  can't  help  figurin'  out 
what  I  can  make  of  a  nervy  kid  if  I  get  my  blink- 
203 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

ers  on  him.  'Course  after  what  I'd  told  him  three 
years  before  in  the  jail  'bout  goin'  back  to  his 
gov'nor  an'  bracin'  up,  it  seemed  eatin'  my  words 
to  give  him  the  steer  I  did ;  but  I  was  square  with 
him.  One  night  I  told  him  what  I  would  or 
wouldn't  do,  just  as  he  wanted.  '  Kid,'  I  says 
to  him,  '  I  can  put  you  next,  if  you  like,  an'  make 
you  a  first-class  grafter;  but  you  want  to  make 
up  your  mind  for  keeps  whether  you  want  to  be 
one  or  not.  You  can't  play  with  the  business. 
You  got  to  forget  all  about  the  gov'nor.  Once 
a  grafter,  you  got  to  stick  to  it  if  you're  goin'  to 
succeed.' 

" '  Ruderick,  my  gov'nor  '11  never  see  me 
again.  I'm  a  thief,  an'  he'll  feel  better  thinkin' 
I've  croaked.' 

"  He  meant  it,  an*  for  the  next  twelve  months 
— he  celled  with  me  a  year — I  done  my  best  to 
make  him  a  wise  one.  I  don't  know  if  you  ever 
trained  a  kid  or  not,  but  let  me  tell  you  that  there 
ain't  anythin'  nicer  in  this  world  than  fashionin' 
a  youngster  with  brains.  It's  jus'  like  trainin'  a 
kid  o*  your  own.  You  watch  him  gettin'  next, 
day  after  day,  an'  you  keep  sayin'  to  yourself: 
1  I'm  doin'  this.  They  got  to  give  me  credit  for 
him.'  It's  discouragin'  as  the  devil  when  the  kid 

204 


On  Sentence  Day 

ain't  smart,  but  that  kid  't  I  had  was  smart  as 
they  make  'em.  He'd  catch  on  to  what  I  was  de- 
scribin'  to  him  'fore  I'd  even  finished  what  I  was 
sayin'.  '  I  see,  I  see,'  he'd  say ;  an'  I  could  go  on 
to  somethin'  else. 

"  What  surprised  'im  most  was  the  priv'leges 
a  bloke  can  get  in  the  Pen  if  he  knows  how.  I 
had  'im  out  o'  the  foundry  an'  in  the  feather- 
pickin'  department — the  softest  snap  in  the  place 
— a  week  after  I  took  hold  of  him.  There  was  a 
detective  't  had  the  run  o'  the  place,  an'  he  an' 
the  warden  grafted  together.  The  fly  cop  'ud 
find  out  which  pris'ners  could  raise  the  stuff  to 
make  it  interestin'  for  him  to  go  to  the  warden  an' 
ask  favors  for  'em,  an'  then  he  an'  the  warden  'ud 
divvy.  I  knew  the  fly  cop  from  way  back,  an' 
I  worked  him  without  money.  He  knew  't  I  was 
pretty  wise,  an'  he  came  to  me  one  day  an'  gave 
me  a  straight  steer.  Says  he :  '  MeKlowd,  if 
you'll  put  me  next  to  any  thin'  that -you  know's 
goin'  on  outside,  I'll  stand  for  somethin'  soft  here 
in  the  Pen.'  He  knew  't  I  knew  the  blokes  out 
side,  an'  was  likely  to  be  able  to  tell  him  what 
they  was  doin',  an'  he  wanted  to  get  wise  off  me. 
I  pretended  to  take  the  tip,  an'  he  began  showin' 
me  favors.  I  ain't  done  such  tall  lyin'  in  a  ten- 
205 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

ner  as  I  did  to  that  copper;  but  he  never  got 
on  to  me.  I'd  say  to  him :  l  There's  goin'  to 
be  a  safe  blown  open  out  in  Chicago  next  month, 
an'  you  want  to  get  next.'  He'd  thank  me  an' 
tell  the  warden  to  do  somethin'  for  me  't  I  want 
ed,  and  then  go  gallivantin'  all  over  the  shop. 
'Course  the  safe  was  never  blown,  but  all  I  had 
to  say  was  that  the  crooks  had  prob'ly  got  scared 
off,  an'  he  took  it  all  in. 

"  I  even  think  that  T  could  'a'  got  the  Kid  out 
o'  the  Pen  through  that  copper.  I  might  'a'  had 
to  put  up  a  little  cash  to  grease  things,  but  the 
fellow  had  an  all-fired  big  pull.  He  knew  'bout 
the  warden's  bein'  crooked,  an'  the  warden  knew 
'bout  him,  an'  both  had  to  square  each  other. 
See?  But  I  didn't  try  to  spring  the  Kid;  jus* 
kept  on  trainin'  him.  You  know  what  he  is  to 
day.  We  old  uns  call  him  The  Michigan  Kid, 
but  the  coppers  all  know  him  as  '  the  fly  De 
troit  crook.'  He  ain't  been  in  prison  in  the  last 
ten  years,  an'  yet  he's  doin'  stunts  right  along. 
He's  got  a  block  o'  houses  out  in  'Frisco,  an' 
owns  a  big  gamblin'  joint  in  Chi — an'  I  guess 
he  grafts  ten  thousand  every  year  besides.  He's 
so  slick  they  can't  touch  him.  He  shows  up  in 
Detroit  every  now  an'  then,  an'  they  lock  him 
206 


On  Sentence  Day 

up  as  a  suspicious  character  if  it's  circus  day,  or 
there's  some  big  convention  on;  but  they  have 
to  let  him  go  in  a  few  days.  There's  blokes  that 
call  him  a  freak ;  they  say  't  he  had  luck.  That's 
rot.  If  all  the  crooks  in  this  country  had  that 
kid's  brains,  they'd  be  just  as  successful.  I  tell 
you  brains  count  for  as  much  in  this  business  as 
they  do  in  bankin'.  If  you  ain't  got  'em,  you 
can't  be  A  Number  One. 

"  I  saw  the  Kid  'bout  a  year  ago  over  in 
York,  an'  he  told  me  't  his  gov'nor  still  had  a 
reward  out  for  any  one  't  'ud  give  him  news  of 
his  son.  He  read  'bout  it,  he  said,  in  a  Western 
paper.  He  asked  me  if  I  thought  he  ought  to 
write  to  the  old  man.  I  told  'im  no.  '  Kid,'  I 
says,  '  you  decided  'bout  that  way  back  when 
you  an'  me  was  in  the  Pen  together.  You 
couldn't  stay  home  if  you  went  there,  so  why 
make  a  bull  an'  show  up  at  all?  " 

"  '  I  hate  to  make  the  gov'nor  feel  bad/  he 
says. 

"  '  That  may  be,  Kid,'  I  says,  '  but  you  ought 
to  V  thought  that  out  years  back.  It's  too  late 
now.'  He  agreed  with  me." 

Once    again    the   bolts    of   the   door    not    of 
heaven  were  shot  back,  and  this  time  there  was 
no  letter  to  be  delivered. 
207 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

"All  ready,  boys,"  the  sheriff  called;  "his 
honor's  waiting  on  you." 

The  men  and  boys  were  handcuffed  together 
in  couples. 

"  Good  luck,  fellows !  "  we  cried  after  them. 

And  in  solemn  procession,  with  the  sheriff  at 
the  head,  they  went  to  their  fate.  Some  of  them 
are  still  "  doing  time,"  others  are  again  waiting 
for  Sentence  Day,  and  a  few  have  passed  on  to 
that  final  court  from  which  there  is  no  appeal, 
and  which  they  dread  least  of  all. 


208 


PEGGIE  NIVEN. 

I. 

Every  human  being  would  perhaps  question 
the  statement,  but  the  fact  is  that  every  human 
being  lives  on  a  theory  and  acts  nine  times  out 
of  ten  as  the  servant  and  interpreter  of  an  idea. 
Fate  intervenes  the  tenth  time  and  converts  the 
servant  of  an  idea  into  a  hero  or  a  poltroon  ac 
cording  as  God  or  the  devil  has  created  him,  but 
these  interventions  are  episodes. 

The  idea  which  Peggie  Niven  served  and  inter 
preted  was  that  the  world  is  a  "  graft."  She  did  not 
go  the  length  of  claiming  originality  for  this  idea. 
It  does  not  differ  at  all  from  that  held  by  many 
eminent  persons  in  all  ages  that  everything  any 
one  possesses  belongs  to  any  one  else  who  is  strong 
enough  or  cunning  enough  to  take  it  and  keep 
it,  and  that  honesty  is,  strictly  speaking,  one  of  the 
luxuries  of  personal  pride,  taxed  heavily  as  are 
all  luxuries  of  pride.  She  was  exceptional  only 
in  the  frankness  with  which  she  acknowledged  her 
209 


The   Powers  That  Prey 

idea  to  herself.  It  seemed  to  her  simply  the 
self-evident  maxim  on  which  all  the  people  she 
had  ever  known  from  her  earliest  childhood  had 
consistently  acted  in  moments  when  they  had 
their  wits  about  them ;  and  her  wits  she  intended 
to  keep  about  her  always.  She  needed  them  in 
her  business.  Lisle  Prankerd  and  Edwin  Parl- 
by  had  also  their  ideas,  but  neither  they  nor  their 
ideas  are  of  any  consequence  whatever,  except 
incidentally. 

Late  one  evening,  when  the  persons  of  this 
story  were  many  years  younger  than  at  present, 
Lisle  Prankerd  was  making  his  way  to  his  lodg 
ings  along  one  of  the  ill-lit  streets  in  the  out 
skirts  of  Omaha.  He  did  not  lodge  in  the  out 
skirts  of  Omaha  because  he  regarded  them  as  an 
ideal  place  of  residence,  but  because  since  his  col 
lege  days  he  had  been  looking  for  his  fortune  and 
had  not  found  it.  That  afternoon,  indeed,  it  had 
occurred  to  him  that  he  might  never  find  it; 
which  notion  being  to  him  so  unnatural  as  to  be 
morbid,  he  had  taken  counsel  with  his  wisdom 
and  invited  certain  of  his  acquaintance  to  try 
whether  it  is  possible  to  dine  in  Omaha.  When 
the  bill  for  that  experiment  was  paid,  he  carried 
in  his  waistcoat  pocket  his  last  bank-note,  and 

210 


Peggie  Niven 

hadn't  an  idea  in  his  head  where  the  next  bank 
note  was  to  come  from.  As  his  uncertainty  on 
this  point,  however,  did  not  trouble  him,  he  re 
garded 'the  wisdom  of  having  dined  as  unques 
tionable.  He  stepped  lightly  and  briskly  and 
hummed  a  bit  of  a  street-song  much  in  vogue  in 
those  remote  days,  and  when  at  an  obscure  corner 
he  was  summoned  to  "  t'row  up  "  his  hands  he 
laughed  aloud.  But  he  "  t'rew  up  "  his  hands. 

"  Keep  'em  up  now,  young  man,  keep  'em  up," 
commanded  the  knight  of  the  road.  "  I  got 
some  more  dates  to-night,  an'  I  can't  linger  with 
you  long." 

"  Hope  they'll  bring  you  in  more  than  this 
one,"  answered  Prankerd,  while  the  stranger 
rifled  his  pockets,  taking  from  him  his  lone  bank 
note  and  gold  watch. 

"  You  might  be  fatter,"  the  robber  admitted, 
stepping  back  with  the  plunder  in  his  left  hand. 
"  Beggars  can't  be  choosers  though,  can  they? 
So-long,  blokey !  " 

"  Don't  you  want  to  give  me  back  that  watch? 
My  best  girl  gave  me  that." 

"  I'd  like  to  accommodate  you,  pard,  but  I 
need  it  in  my  business.  Besides,  you'd  prob'ly 
hock  it  to-morrow,  you're  so  hard  up.  So-long, 

211 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

blokey ;  glad  I  met  you ;  take  care  o'  yourself !  " 

"  I  guess  that  won't  be  hard  now  that  you've 
got  all  I  had  that  was  worth  taking  care  of.  If 
it's  just  the  same  to  you  I  won't  mind  if  -we  don't 
meet  again." 

"  Don't  be  impolite,  young  man.  If  you  ain't 
got  no  respect  for  yourself,  at  least  think  o'  the 
repitation  o'  the  city.  Take  care  o'  yourself." 
And  the  stranger  disappeared  in  the  darkness. 

What  measures  the  following  day  Lisle  Prank- 
erd  took  to  fill  his  pockets  need  not  be  told.  The 
point  is  that  for  the  time  being  they  were  wholly 
unfruitful,  and  that  that  evening  also  he  stepped 
lightly  and  briskly  homeward  humming  a  bit  of 
a  tune.  He  had  not  a  cent  in  his  pocket,  but  he 
had  dined — by  invitation — and  he  had  tele 
graphed  "  collect  "  for  money,  which  would  be 
delivered  him  in  the  morning.  Having  at  the 
moment  nothing  to  lose,  he  had  nothing  to  worry 
about;  and  when  at  the  same  obscure  corner  he 
was  once  more  summoned  to  "  t'row  up  "  his 
hands  he  laughed  even  louder  than  before. 

'  You're  a  merry  one  too,"  said  the  robber,  ad 
vancing  to  inspect  Prankerd's  pockets.  "  Keep 
yer  ban's  up :  I  can  go  t'rough  you  without  help." 

"  Seems  to  me  that  I  have  heard  that  voice  be 
fore,"  returned  Prankerd. 

212 


Peggie  Niven 

"  P'r'aps  you  have ;  let's  swap  looks  at  each 
other  under  this  glim  here."  And  the  robber 
drew  Prankerd  toward  the  street-lamp.  "  W'y, 
you're  the  bloke  't  I  touched  last  night,"  the 
stranger  exclaimed  on  verifying  his  suspicions. 
"  Y'  oughtn't  to  keep  such  late  hours." 

"  You  oughtn't  either,  pard,"  said  Prankerd, 
"  if  you  don't  get  any  more  for  your  pains  than 
you'll  get  from  me  to-night." 

"  Can't  tell,  my  boy,  till  I've  looked  you  over. 
Ain't  sewed  everythin'  up  in  the  linin*  of  your 
coat? "  Again  the  robber  rifled  Prankerd's 
pockets,  but  this  time  without  getting  even  a  cent 
of  plunder.  "  You  are  dry,"  the  robber  ex 
claimed,  still  covering  Prankerd  with  the  revolver. 
"  I  almost  feel  sorry  for  you.  Come  nearer  the 
lamp,  an'  lemme  get  a  good  squint  at  you.  Say, 
you  ain't  such  a  bad  sort.  Ain't  you  got  no  one 
you  can  touch?  " 

Prankerd  laughed.  "  No,  I'm  up  against  it 
all  right.  Suppose  you  let  me  put  my  hands 
down." 

"  Not  on  your  life :  you're  more  comfortable 
with  'em  where  they  are !  You're  young  too, 
ain't  you?  " 

"  Not  so  young  as  you." 
213 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

"  Pard,  don't  get  passin'  them  remarks  about, 
or  I  might  get  generous.  Say,  on  the  level,  are 
you  really  busted?  " 

"  If  I  hadn't  had  an  invite  to-night,  I  couldn't 
V  dined." 

"  Is  that  straight?  " 

"  Straight  as  I  can  make  it." 

The  robber  lowered  the  revolver,  and  drew  a 
five-dollar  bill  from  an  inside  coat-pocket.  "  Dine 
on  me  to-morrow,  pard,"  he  remarked,  handing 
Prankerd  the  bank-note.  "  The  watch  I  needed 
in  my  business  as  I  told  you,  but  I  ain't  goin'  to 
have  you  runnin'  around  hungry  on  my  account. 
When  you're  in  luck,  p'r'aps  I'll  touch  you  up 
again.  Take  care  o'  yourself." 

"  Same  to  you,"  said  Prankerd,  and  the  two 
separated  again. 

It  is  the  supreme  distinction  of  business  in  the 
United  States  that  it  possesses  the  interest  of  rou 
lette,  and  that  a  man  never  knows  what  is  going 
to  happen  next.  A  year  after  Lisle  Prankerd  con 
sulted  with  his  wisdom,  and  dined  accordingly, 
he  had  found  his  fortune ;  he  was  at  least  at  the 
moment  hard  in  pursuit  of  it  as  fast  as  the  New 
York-Chicago  express  could  bear  him.  It  was 
a  momentary  check  to  his  satisfaction  that  he 
214 


Peggie  Niven 

found  as  the  train  was  drawing  toward  Columbus 
that  he  had  lost  his  purse.  Columbus  is  no  place 
for  a  man  who  has  found  his  fortune  and  lost  his 
purse,  and  Prankerd  knew  it,  and  he  told  the  con 
ductor  that  he  knew  it.  He  told  him  also  that 
he  knew  the  general  superintendent,  and  that  this 
gentleman  would  not  be  pleased  to  hear  that  pas 
sengers  on  his  train  were  deprived  of  their  purses. 
He  indicated  further  that  it  would  be  politic  for 
the  conductor  to  make  an  effort  to  recover  the 
purse  before  Columbus  was  reached.  Fortu 
nately  for  the  conductor,  the  detective  of  the  di 
vision  was  on  the  train,  and  he  was  immediately 
advised  of  the  theft. 

There  are  railway  detectives  and  railway  de 
tectives.  Some  are  "  dead  "  and  can  do  nothing 
more  profitable  than  ride  on  their  passes;  others 
are  half  "  dead  "  and  are  equal  to  but  little  more 
than  arresting  tramps  and  train-jumpers;  and 
others  are  very  much  "alive."  Franklin  Izod,the 
detective  on  the  train  drawing  into  Columbus,  be 
longed  to  the  last  category. 

"  How  much  dough  was  in  that  purse?  "  he 
asked  Prankerd. 

"  What  has  that  to  do  with  you?  "  Prankerd 
counter-questioned.  "  All  you  need  to  know  is 

15  215 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

that  I  have  been  '  touched/  and  that  I  want  my 
purse  back." 

"  Think  you'd  know  your  leather  again  if  you 
saw  it?  "  Izod  queried  with  justifiable  sarcasm. 

"  Find  it,  and  see,"  said  Prankerd. 

Prankerd's  alleged  acquaintance  with  the  gen 
eral  superintendent  impelled  Izod  to  make  a 
search,  but  he  was  tempted  to  tell  Prankerd  to  go 
well,  to  Europe !  "  Wise  "  railway  detec 
tives  should  be  taken  gravely,  but,  of  course, 
Prankerd  had  not  been  let  into  the  mysteries  by 
which  "  fly  cops  "  are  rated  "  dead  "  and  "  wise." 
The  first  thing  that  a  "  wise  copper  "  on  a  train 
does  on  learning  that  a  passenger  has  been 
"  touched  "  is  to  go  through  the  train  and  see 
whether  he  recognizes  among  the  passengers  any 
known  thieves.  Izod  began  in  the  smoking  car 
and  went  through  the  train  to  the  last  Pullman. 
In  the  last  seat  of  the  last  Pullman,  he  saw  and 
recognized  his  old  acquaintance  Peggie  Niven. 
He  bowed,  shook  hands,  and  sat  down  beside  her, 
not  at  her  invitation.  "  Wise  "  detectives  get 
on  without  invitations. 

"  Suppose  you've  thrown  the  leather  out  o'  the 
window,  haven't  you,  Peg?  " 

"What  leather?"  demanded  Peg,  foolishly 
216 


Peggie  Niven 

giving  away  her  knowledge  of  the  world  by  re 
peating  the  word. 

"  That  leather  't  you  pulled  up  in  the  next 
car." 

In  polite  society  it  is  bad  form  to  make  a 
woman  formulate  a  "  bluff  "  without  giving  her 
time  to  make  a  guess  or  two,  but  they  do  things 
differently  in  the  Under  World,  and  Peggie  had 
to  indicate  her  "  bluff  "  in  the  next  sentence  she 
spoke,  and  she  had  to  speak  quick. 

"  Sir,"  she  said,  "  if  you  do  not  leave  me  in 
stantly  I'll  call  the  conductor.  I'll  call  him  any 
how.  Conductor !  "  she  called.  He  came.  "  This 
man  is  insulting  me,  and  I  wish  you  would  order 
him  away." 

It  was  a  poor  "  front,"  but  the  woman  was  at 
bay,  and  she  had  to  take  big  chances.  The  con 
ductor  was  soon  advised  by  Izod  how  matters 
stood,  and  was  told  to  ask  "  the  gent  that  had 
been  touched  "  to  come  and  "  size  up  the  slick 
Moll."  The  "  slick  Moll "  had  attracted  the  at 
tention  of  the  other  passengers,  and  by  the  time 
Prankerd  appeared  there  was  a  willingness  on  the 
part  of  some  of  the  men  present  to  interfere  in 
her  behalf.  It  was  just  as  well  for  the  men  that 
they  did  not  act  upon  their  willingness. 
217 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

"  Did  you  see  this  woman  in  your  car?  "  asked 
Izod  of  Prankerd. 

Prankerd  admitted  that  he  had.  "  She  sat 
for  a  while  in  the  seat  behind  me,  and  later  she 
asked  me  to  rise  from  my  seat  while  she  looked 
for  her  gloves." 

"  That's  all  for  the  present,  sir/'  said  Izod.  "  If 
you  will  kindly  take  a  seat  at  the  other  end  of  the 
car,  I'll  join  you  in  a  few  minutes."  Prankerd 
took  the  seat. 

"  Now,  Peg,"  continued  Izod,  "  you  better 
cough  up  an'  have  no  rows,  'cause  I've  got  you 
dead  to  rights.  You  just  dive  down  in  that 
stockin'  o'  yours  an'  haul  out  the  roll.  If  I  can, 
I'll  fix  it  up  an'  let  you  mooch." 

Peggie  knew  of  nothing  better  than  to  keep  up 
her  "  bluff,"  and  she  kept  it  up  with  vigor  and 
force. 

"  You  dirty  louse,  you,"  she  was  moved  to  say, 
"  I  wouldn't  dive  down  in  my  stockin'  for  you  or 
any  other  slob  like  you.  You  leave  me  alone." 

"  Want  me  to  pinch  you?  " 

"  Oh,  pinch  your  old  clapper-tongue,  will  you, 
an'  shut  up." 

Peggie  saw  fit  to  make  these  remarks  at  the 
top  of  her  voice,  and  her  ordinary  manner  of 
speaking  was  not  quiet. 

218 


Peggie  Niven 

"  All  right,  then,"  said  Izod,  "  put  up  your 
dukes  while  I  put  the  cuffs  on  'em.  If  you  can't 
appreciate  kindness,  I'm  not  goin'  to  fool  with 
you.  Put  'em  up !  "  And  Izod  drew  out  his 
handcuffs.  It  was  an  unpleasant  scene  for  a 
Pullman  car,  but  Prankerd  knew  the  general  su 
perintendent.  Peggie  had  no  more  than  seen 
the  handcuffs  when  she  changed  her  "  bluff  " ; 
she  screamed  and  wept  like  a  woman  in  a  fit  of 
hysterics.  Prankerd  and  other  men  in  the  car 
rushed  to  the  rescue.  "  Couldn't  they,  per 
haps,  do  something  for  the  woman?  "  they  asked, 
and  crowded  about  Izod  and  Peggie.  Prankerd 
pushed  his  way  through  the  gathering,  and  he 
and  the  woman  looked  each  other  full  in  the  face. 
Suddenly,  the  woman  again  changed  "  front." 

"  Aw !  git  away,  it's  my  pal,"  she  said,  laugh 
ing,  and  grabbed  Prankerd's  hand. 

'  You've  got  me,  my  good  woman." 

"  That's  what  I  had  in  Omaha;  don't  you  re 
member  Omaha?  " 

'  Yes,  I  remember  Omaha,  but  what's  that  got 
to  do  with  pal?" 

"  Don't  you  remember  the  two  nights  you 
were  held  up  out  there?  I'm  sure  you're  the 
bloke.  Ain't  forgotten,  have  you,  how  the  fel- 
219 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

low  that  held  you  up  divvied  with  you?  He  had 
on  a  brown  coat,  don't  you  recollect,  an'  talked 
with  you  'bout  dinin'  ?  You  wouldn't  send  a  fel 
low  like  that  over  the  road,  would  you?  " 

The  detective  saw  things  coming  his  way  and 
released  the  hand  he  held.  Prankerd  scrutinized 
the  face  before  him  and  did  not  ask  it  how  it  came 
to  belong  to  a  woman;  he  only  expressed  an 
opinion  in  regard  to  the  judgment  to  be  passed 
upon  him  after  death.  The  spectators  tittered. 

"  Sure.  We're  pals.  Shake,"  said  the  woman, 
not  meaning  to  assent  to  Prankerd's  expressed 
opinion,  but  to  his  unexpressed  recognition. 

"  Seems  to  me  you've  changed  since  Omaha 
days,"  said  Prankerd,  accepting  the  invitation  to 
"  shake  "  and  laughing.  Prankerd  was  not  a 
snob,  and  the  titter  of  the  spectators  had  brought 
the  humor  of  his  case  home  to  him. 

"  Changed  my  duds  but  not  myself;  I'm  just 
as  square  as  I  was  then,  an'  you  ain't  goin'  to  see 
me  railroaded  just  for  makin'  a  little  touch.  I 
didn't  know  you  when  I  saw  you  in  the  other  car; 
you  can  gamble  on  it.  Fix  the  thing  up,  will 
you?" 

Prankerd  meditated ;  he  liked  Peggie.  "  Divvy 
and  divvy,  turn  about's  fair  play.  Hand  out  the 
roll  and  I'll  split  it  with  you,  I'll  give  you  half." 

220 


Peggie  Niven 

Peggie  produced  the  roll  from  her  stocking, 
and  handed  it  to  Prankerd.  He  counted  it,  and 
handed  her  back  half. 

"  You'se  a  man,"  she  said. 

"  So  are  you — sometimes !  " 

The  detective  viewed  the  exchange  with  greedy 
eyes,  but  said  nothing ;  there  was  nothing  for  him 
to  say.  By  rights,  as  rights  go  in  such  circum 
stances,  there  was  nothing  for  any  one  to  say, 
but  one  Edwin  Parlby,  also  a  passenger,  thought 
otherwise.  Edwin  Parlby  had  a  Calvinist  some 
where  among  his  forbears;  he  did  not  know 
just  where,  but  no  matter  for  that ;  he  spelled  gov 
ernment  and  justice  in  "  large  caps  "  and  had 
ideas  of  public  spirit.  He  had  watched  the 
transaction  between  Prankerd  and  Peggie  with 
a  mixture  of  astonishment  and  indignation ;  and 
when  people  did  in  his  presence  what  he  thought 
wrong,  it  was  his  habit  to  tell  them  so.  He  knew 
the  habit  was  unpleasant,  but  he  said  it  was  a 
duty.  He  stepped  forward  and  addressed  Prank 
erd. 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,  do  I  understand  that  you 
mean  to  allow  this  woman  to  go  free?  " 

Prankerd  looked  at  the  speaker  with  exasperat 
ing  good  humor.  "  I'm  sure  I  don't  know  what 
concern  that  is  of  yours,"  he  said. 

221 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

"  Although  you  know  absolutely  that  she  has 
picked  your  pocket?  " 

"  Although  I  know  absolutely  that  she  has 
picked  my  pocket.  I  repeat,  I  don't  know  what 
concern  it  is  of  yours.  The  pocket  was  not  your 
pocket.  The  lady  happens  to  be  a  friend  of 
mine;  she  is  at  liberty  to  pick  my  pocket  when 
ever  she  likes ;  indeed  she  has  exercised  that  privi 
lege  from  the  first  time  she  met  me !  " 

"  Get  a  mooch  on,  you  snipe-nosed  galoot,"  in 
terrupted  Peggie.  "  Mind  you  own  business  if 
you  got  any."  Edwin  Parlby's  nose  did  bear  a 
striking  likeness  to  the  bill  of  a  snipe,  and  one  of 
the  bystanders  hummed  the  chorus  of  a  popular 
song — "  Why  don't  you  git  a  lady  of  your  own? — 
Oh  I  do'  know!'9 

"I'll  soon  make  it  some  concern  of  mine!" 
said  the  virtuous  Parlby.  "  Detective,  I  call  on 
you  to  arrest  that  woman  as  a  thief,  and  the  man 
as  a  witness,  or  worse,  leaving  the  State.  If  you 
don't,  I'll  do  it  myself;  and  I'll  make  it  damned 
hot  for  you." . 


222 


II. 

Fate,  which  makes  history,  and  is  much  con 
cerned  to  make  it  worth  reading,  ordained  that 
ten  years  after  Edwin  Parlby's  exhibition  of  pub 
lic  spirit  the  three  actors  in  the  little  scene  in  the 
railway  carnage  should  find  themselves  settled  in 
the  same  municipality.  The  place  was  in  the 
far  West,  and  need  not  be  designated  otherwise 
than  as  the  city  of  Blank.  People  in  the  far 
West  are  sensitive  and  prone  to  show  their  appre 
ciation  of  scribes  who  report  ill  of  them  with  a 
vivacity  which  the  present  historians  are  anxious 
to  avoid. 

The  three  had  prospered  greatly  in  the  interval. 
Edwin  Parlby's  concern  for  the  welfare  of  the 
public  was  quite  compatible  with  a  concern  for 
himself.  He  had  recently  got  the  leading  bank 
of  the  city  of  Blank  where  he  could  squeeze  it 
and  had  squeezed.  The  intelligence  of  the  board 
of  directors  was  so  stimulated  by  the  pressure 
that  they  discovered  he  was  just  the  man  they 
223 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

had  long  wanted  for  president.  Lisle  Prankerd 
was  one  of  the  directors;  it  had  been  in  the  city 
of  Blank  that  he  had  found  his  fortune.  He  re 
signed  from  the  board  and  parted  with  his  inter 
ests  in  the  bank  when  Parlby  was  elected :  he  said 
he  did  not  like  the  union  of  so  much  public  spirit 
and  so  much  private  enterprise  in  the  same  man. 
Peggie  Niven  was  the  local  queen,  in  the  city  of 
Blank,  of  the  Under  World. 

In  the  Under  as  in  the  Upper  World  there  are 
some  women  born  queens ;  they  take  supreme  po 
sitions,  and  command  and  exact  obedience  as 
their  natural  right.  Such  women  are  amusing 
and  entertaining,  and  at  times  very  powerful,  but 
are  often  more  easily  overthrown  and  deprived  of 
power  than  the  woman  who  has  made  her  power 
secure  by  first  being  unobtrusive.  Peggie  Niven 
was  such  a  woman.  It  may,  indeed,  be  said  of 
her  that  in  the  early  part  of  her  career  she  had 
never  so  much  as  dreamed  of  queenship.  She 
never  possessed  the  gift  of  allurement ;  from  the 
first  she  was  obliged  to  win  her  way  without  the 
woman's  strength  which  is  beauty  ^and  without 
the  man's  which  is  muscle.  She  had  to  make  up 
for  both  by  pluck  and  audacity,  but  the  latter 
quality  was  a  comparatively  late  development. 
224 


Peggie  Niven 

Pluck  she  had  as  a  child.  She  was  born  in 
one  of  the  slums  of  New  York,  and  from  the  very 
beginning  of  things  had  to  suffer  privation  and 
brutality.  At  seven  she  was  one  of  a  crowd  of 
children  who  fed  themselves  from  the  grocer's 
sidewalk  display.  At  ten  she  was  selling  news 
papers  and  sleeping  in  cellars,  in  spite  of  The  So 
ciety  for  the  Prevention  of  Cruelty  to  Children. 
She  knew  about  this  society;  all  "wise"  slum 
children  have  to  know  about  it;  but  the  society 
did  not  know  about  her.  At  the  age  of  fifteen 
she  was  an  expert  pickpocket,  and  "  buzzed  " 
around  "  Molls  "  at  funerals,  and  relieved  them  of 
their  "  leathers."  She  had  seen  how  this  trick 
was  done  while  vending  papers,  and  her  gift  for 
mathematics  made  it  clear  that  "  Moll-buzzing  " 
was  much  more  remunerative  than  sleeping  in 
cellars  and  peddling  Park  Row  literature.  Some 
girls  come  to  this  conclusion  earlier  than  did  Peg 
gie.  It  must  be  admitted  that  it  is  not  founded 
wholly  on  mathematical  proofs ;  but  Peggie  even 
as  a  child  required  that  things  be  definitely  dem 
onstrated  to  her  before  being  satisfied  that  she 
was  not  being  "  stuffed."  Later  she  was  not  so 
exacting  in  this  particular;  her  audacity  had  de 
veloped  and  she  had  learned  to  trust  "  her  nerve." 
225 


The  Powers   That  Prey 

She  was  twenty-two  years  of  age  when  she  first 
introduced  herself  to  Prankerd.  She  had  shifted 
from  New  York  to  the  West  out  of  motives  of  per 
sonal  shyness :  the  "  Metropolis  "  wished  to  show 
her  public  courtesies  which  she  would  have  found 
embarrassing.  The  police  had  made  her  ac 
quaintance,  had  demanded  and  secured  a  photo 
graph  of  her  none  too  attractive  countenance,  had 
given  her  a  number  in  their  gallery  of  celebrities, 
and  were  eager  upon  the  first  opportunity  to 
show  her  still  other  marks  of  their  esteem. 

Her  career  in  the  West  for  the  first  few  years 
of  her  residence  there  is  remarkable  mainly  for 
her  ability  to  assume  a  man's  responsibilities  and 
to  take  a  man's  chances.  She  drifted  soon  into 
a  "  mob  of  grafters,"  and  did  anything  which 
came  to  hand  and  promised  to  be  profitable. 
Eventually  she  became  leader  of  the  "  mob,"  but 
before  long  she  decided  that  her  talents  and  self- 
reliance  were  suited  better  to  "  going  it  alone." 
Sentimental  attachments,  and  interest  in  men 
merely  as  men,  are  not  reported  in  connection 
with  this  period  of  her  life. 

Her  reappearance  in  the  East,  if  it  be  no  of 
fense  to  Columbus  to  classify  this  "  berg  "  with 
Eastern  communities,  was  intentional  and  in  pur- 

226 


Peggie  Niven 

suance  of  a  carefully  planned  tour,  but  it  cha 
grined  her  very  much  to  be  told  in  Columbus  by 
the  judge  before  whom  Stockholder  Parlby  suc 
ceeded  in  bringing  her,  that  it  was  the  will  of  the 
commonwealth  that  she  settle  in  its  penitentiary 
for  five  years.  "  It's  my  last  trip  East,"  was  her 
resolution  on  receiving  the  sentence,  which  was 
shortened  by  good  conduct  to  three  years  and 
nine  months — time  enough,  however,  for  her  to 
come  to  some  conclusions,  the  most  important  of 
which  was  that  "  graftin'  doesn't  pay  "  and  that 
she  was  "  goin'  to  chuck  it."  As  a  rule,  it  takes 
women  longer  to  come  to  this  conclusion  than  it 
takes  men;  they  allow  instinct  to  regulate  their 
crimes  as  well  as  their  affections;  men  appeal  to 
their  reason,  and  reason  is  never  so  long-suffer 
ing  as  instinct — at  least  so  say  criminals.  By 
this  it  must  not  be  construed  that  Peggie  was  pre 
pared  to  join  the  ranks  of  the  discouraged.  Not 
she !  When  Lisle  Prankerd  offered  what  was  to 
her  and  at  an  earlier  time  would  have  been  to  him 
a  great  sum  of  "  regret  money  "  for  his  unwilling 
participation  in  her  compulsory  residence  in  Co 
lumbus,  to  make  "  a  stab  at  something  else,"  she 
immediately  went  West  and  cast  about  for  a  new 
business. 

227 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

The  possibilities  in  the  West  for  a  woman  of 
resources  are  infinite.  Ruderick  MeKlowd  is 
authority  for  the  statement  that  "  a  woman  with 
a  good  mug  and  some  dough  in  her  stocking  is 
the  best  investment  in  the  West  a  man  can  go  in 
for,"  and  he  is  reported  to  have  expressed  a  re 
gret  that  he  wasn't  born  a  woman.  Peggie  at 
different  times  in  her  life  sincerely  regretted  that 
she  had  not  been  born  a  man.  Whether  as  a 
man  she  would  ever  have  amounted  to  what  with 
Prankerd's  aid  she  did  as  a  woman  may  be 
doubted.  On  her  return  to  the  West  she  "  took 
a  fresh  deal  in  the  game,"  and  her  name  appeared 

in  the  tax-collector's  books  in  the  city  of 

as  that  of  the  owner  of  certain  temples  where 
men  sacrificed  to  Fortune  and  to  other  heathen 
deities  whose  worship  is  not  extinct.  Beyond 
the  limits  of  her  own  clique  she  was  neither  queen 
nor  priestess ;  she  was  "  that  coarse  woman  that 
you  always  see  at  the  races  " ;  within  the  limits 
of  her  clique,  and  it  was  not  small,  she  was  the 
"  swiftest  rag  on  the  Coast."  No  one  ventured 
to  name  her  title  to  her  face ;  she  was  Mrs.  Peg 
gie  Niven ;  but  the  "  push,"  her  world,  claimed 
the  right  to  speak  of  her  in  the  vernacular.  They 
took  a  proprietary  interest  in  her  success,  and  ac- 
228 


Peggie  Niven 

cepted  her  as  their  exponent  and  benefactor  in 
matters  of  Under- World  importance.  If  a  crook 
of  prominence  died  it  was  naturally  expected  that 
Peggie  should  help  to  bury  him,  if  he  had  forgot 
ten  to  invest  in  a  burial  association.  If  a  gambler 
"  went  broke  "  he  betook  himself  to  Peggie  for  a 
fresh  "  stake  " ;  and  if  a  friend  got  "  pinched  " 
Peggie  was  the  one  to  bail  him  out.  It  is  even 
reported  that  the  Upper  World  levied  upon  her 
for  contributions  to  charity,  and  got  them.  It  is 
not  reported,  however,  that  she  was  ever  seen  in 
an  Upper-World  drawing-room.  In  the  words 
of  the  Under- World  song,  she  "  wouldn't  be  a 
lady  if  she  could."  Her  horses  often  raced  with 
those  of  Upper- World  celebrities,  and  her  money 
was  deposited  at  the  same  bank  which  held  the 
"  securities  "  of  all  the  virtues,  but  personal  con 
tact  with  her  was  essentially  an  Under-World 
privilege.  She  had  not  even  found  it  convenient 
to  get  "  square  "  with  the  officious  Mr.  Parlby, 
the  old  acquaintance  of  Columbus  days,  and  a 

near  neighbor  in  the  city  of ,  but  it  must 

be  confessed  that  she  was  a  woman  who  seldom 
did  anything  that  was  not  convenient. 

At  the  time  when  the  directors  of  the  Bank  of 
the   Occident   discovered   that   they   had   long 
229 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

wanted  Edwin  Parlby  for  president,  the  citizens 
of  the  municipality  of were  universally  oc 
cupied  in  a  game  of  beggar-my-neighbor,  which 
cannot  have  been  gambling  because  there  was 
and  is  an  ordinance  against  gambling  in  public 
places  duly  passed  and  made  a  part  of  the  effect 
ive  law  of  the  city.  It  makes  all  the  difference 
that  town-lots  are  played  for  instead  of  chips,  and 
that  the  expanse  of  heaven  itself  serves  as  walls 
and  ceiling  of  the  gambling-hell.  The  last  great 
game  of  beggar-my-neighbor  had  been  played 
to  a  finish  about  ten  years  before,  and  with  a 
handful  of  exceptions  every  one's  neighbor  had 
been  beggared  with  such  completeness  that  there 
had  been  neither  money  nor  pluck  in  the  posses 
sion  of  citizens  sufficient  in  number  for  play 
ing  the  game  since;  but  of  late  every  one  had 
begun  to  assure  every  one  else  that  the  cards  were 
cut  and  shuffled  for  a  new  deal.  Every  one  had 
begun  to  assure  every  one  else  that "  good  times  " 
were  coming,  when  every  one  would  say  in 
chorus  that  he  believes  the  price  of  real  estate  is 
going  up,  and  (the  voice  of  the  people  being  the 
voice  of  God)  by  a  fiat  of  lies  would  increase  its 
value  and  make  something  out  of  nothing :  all  of 

which  means,  that  in  the  city  of ,  where 

230 


Peggie  Niven 

any  man  might  become  a  millionaire  or  President 
of  the  United  States,  every  man  felt  it  no  more 
than  respectful  to  Lady  Fortune  to  give  her  a 
chance  to  do  something  handsome  by  him.  There 
had  been  ten  years  of  labor  and  saving  which 
made  no  one  happy  because  it  was  not  the 
custom  for  any  one  to  consent  to  be  happy 
on  what  one  man  may  make  by  the  work 
of  his  brain  and  hands ;  it  was  but  common  sense 
seemingly  for  them  to  pool  their  savings  from 
time  to  time  with  the  understanding,  that  every 
one  should  cheat  and  be  cheated  until  the  luckiest 
or  most  skillful  half-dozen  gamesters  got  posses 
sion  of  the  pool.  By  this  arrangement,  some 
few  at  least  were  made  happy. 

Lisle  Prankerd  was  one  of  those  whom  the  last 
division  of  savings  had  made  happy.  In  the  con 
viction  that  history  repeats  itself,  it  is  perhaps  not 
unnatural,  that  he  was  also  among  the  first  to 
encourage  another  division  of  savings  and  should 
expect  to  be  made  happy  again.  His  fellow  citi 
zens  did  not  hold  him  either  hateful  or  infamous 
for  this.  On  the  contrary,  inasmuch  as  he  had 
cheated  them  in  all  honor  and  had  dedicated  some 
portion  of  his  winnings  to  public  improvements, 
they  held  him  a  shrewd  fellow  and  were  humbly 
16  231 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

grateful  to  him.  When  he  said  that  "  good 
times  "  were  coming  his  words  were  bandied  from 
mouth  to  mouth,  and  every  one  who  heard  them, 
instead  of  being  rationally  sorry  and  tightening 
his  purse-strings,  was  irrationally  glad.  This 
cheerful  unreason  in  a  community  is  called  a 
spirit  of  business  enterprise.  When  it  was  known 
that  he  had  bet  "  good  times  "  were  coming  and 
had  staked  almost  all  he  had  realized  on  his  in 
terests  in  the  Bank  of  the  Occident — that  he  had 
quietly  bought  options  on  bits  of  town  and  sub 
urban  property  for  which  there  had  hitherto 
been  no  market — the  cheerful  unreason  became 
more  cheerful  and  there  was  an  instant  disposition 
to  back  his  bet. 

What  checked  their  cheerfulness  for  a  moment 
at  least  was  not  that  they  perceived  its  unwisdom 
and  that  backing  Prankerd's  bet  was  precisely  the 
way  to  make  him  win  it  and  win  it  from  them 
selves  ;  it  was  that  Parlby  had  made  a  bet  on  the 
other  side.  He  had  for  a  long  time  bought 
in  whatever  realty  was  offered  at  forced  sale 
in  and  about  the  city,  and  was  become  the 
largest  holder  in  the  county.  When  the  "  spirit 
of  business  enterprise  "  stood  erect  because  of 
Prankerd's  investments,  Parlby  reduced  it  at  a 
stroke  to  a  state  of  limp  dubiety  and  surmise ;  he 
232 


Peggie  Niven 

began  to  offer  his  holdings  for  sale  at  any  price, 
at  whatever  he  could  get.  Prankerd  was  admit 
ted  to  be  shrewd,  but  it  was  just  possible  he  was 
"  losing  his  grip  " ;  it  was  quite  certain  Parlby 
had  "  done  "  him  in  the  matter  of  the  Bank  of 
the  Occident ;  it  was  obvious  to  any  one  that  if  a 
man  is  bent  on  gambling  at  all  on  a  rising  market 
the  ideal  course  for  him  is  to  hold  off  until  he 
cannot  win  much  and  may  lose  everything.  This 
cheerless  unreason  is  called  a  spirit  of  business 
caution. 

Lisle  Prankerd  did  not  want  the  property 
which  Parlby  offered ;  that  was  why  he  bid  it  in. 
It  was  also  why  Parlby  offered  more  and  yet 
more  for  sale,  and  why  Prankerd  continued  to  bid 
it  in ;  until  it  became  plain  that  if  the  "  good 
times  "  really  did  not  come,  and  that  suddenly, 
the  last  man  that  any  one  need  wish  to  become 
would  be  Lisle  Prankerd. 

When  matters  were  in  this  posture  a  card  was 
brought  one  morning  to  Prankerd  at  his  office. 

"  Yes,  it's  me,"  said  Peggie  entering;  "  always 
on  hand  when  I'm  wanted,  and  sometimes  when 
I'm  not.  I  come  to  talk  business  and  you  can 
send  away  that  young  man  if  you  don't  want  him 
yourself  as  a  protection  or  a  witness;  I  want  to 
place  some  '  dough  ' ;  I  want  to  know  on  the  level 
233 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

what  all  this  shindy  means  between  you  and  Parl- 
by.  The  town's  a  good  town  an'  I  believe  in  it ; 
I  want  to  buy  some  lots." 

"  And  you  come  to  me  for  advice?  I  advise 
you  to  hold  off.  The  boom's  coming  all  right ; 
but  it  won't  come  till  Parlby  wants  it  to :  Parlby's 
got  me  treed." 

"  You  mean  it's  just  a  case  of  freeze-out?  " 

Prankerd  laughed. 

"  You  speak  as  if  a  case  of  freeze-out  were  easy. 
Yes,  it's  just  a  case  of  freeze-out." 

"  Damn  Parlby,"  said  Peggie. 

"  Just  my  sentiments,  only  much  more  ele 
gantly  expressed,"  said  Prankerd. 

"  All  right ;  I  guess  I  know  all  I  want  to,"  said 
Peggie. 

"  So  do  I,"  said  Prankerd. 

"  Yes,  I  guess  you  do ;  but  I  give  you  a  point 
er.  I  don't  know  whether  I'm  going  to  take  a 
hand  in  this  game  or  not ;  I  don't  mostly  tell  what 
I'm  going  to  do  beforehand,  it  mightn't  be  con 
venient  ;  but  just  you  don't  cash  in  your  chips  be 
fore  you  have  to." 

And  with  this  oracular  metaphor  she  started  to 
take  her  leave.  She  paused  at  the  door. 

"  I  owe  that  Parlby  one  from  way  back :  it's 
about  time  his  luck  took  a  tumble." 
234 


III. 


The  precise  logical  connection  of  the  matters 
still  to  be  narrated  with  each  other  and  with  the 
matters  already  detailed  must  be  left  in  some 
measure  in  an  obscurity  which  the  intelligence  of 
the  reader  no  doubt  will  penetrate.  The  plain 
facts  are,  that  immediately  after  Peggie's  inter 
view  with  Prankerd  there  was  a  second  fund  in 
the  market  to  oppose  Parlby ;  Peggie  had  strained 
her  credit,  which  was  considerable,  to  the  utmost 
and  became  a  reckless  buyer  of  options. 

A  few  days  later  a  rumor  ran  like  mad  through 
the  town,  in  especial  through  the  Under  World, 
that  the  Bank  of  the  Occident  was  not  safe,  and 
depositors  in  a  passion  of  haste  to  withdraw  their 
accounts  fought  on  the  bank  floor  for  priority. 
The  story  ran  that  the  bank  had  been  robbed  in 
open  day :  the  story  was  scoffed  at  in  the  streets 
and  in  the  clubs ;  the  deliberate  opinion  was  that 
Parlby  had  overreached  himself,  and  that  the  rob 
bery  was  a  "  fake  " ;  and  the  deliberate  opinion 

235 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

was  confirmed  when  it  came  to  be  understood 
that  after  a  hasty  meeting  of  the  directors  Parlby 
was  held  to  have  overdrawn  his  personal  balance 
and  was  in  the  opinion  of  his  associates  discred 
ited.  Parlby,  the  deliberate  opinion  was,  had 
been  sacrificed,  justly  enough  because  of  his  pri 
vate  ventures,  to  save  the  bank.  After  a  day  or 
two  a  definite  account  was  made  public,  but  the 
account  was  too  "  sensational "  to  obtain  imme 
diate  belief.  The  bank  was  solvent,  but  it  was 
indubitably  weakened :  the  sporting  world  needs 
its  capital  where  it  can  lay  its  hands  on  it  at  a 
minute's  warning.  The  sporting  world's  capita) 
is  considerable,  the  sporting  world  is  not  trustful, 
and  it  had  been  long  in  the  habit  of  banking  with 
the  Occident.  What  had  happened  in  the  Occi 
dent  was  this. 

On  the  morning  of  the  day  when  the  panic 
had  occurred,  a  low,  thick-set  man  with  shaggy 
whiskers  and  a  hand-bag  had  entered  the  Occi 
dent  as  if  it  belonged  to  him  and  demanded  to 
see  the  president.  The  president's  sanctum  in 
those  days  was  a  space  apart  walled  off  by  slabs 
of  plate  glass  a  quarter  of  an  inch  thick  and 
screened  from  vulgar  gaze  by  silk  curtains  in  baby 
blue.  The  visitor  announced  that  he  had  busi- 

236 


Peggie  Niven 

ness  of  importance  to  both  of  them  and  requested 
Mr.  Parlby  as  they  entered  the  sanctum  to  give 
orders  that  they  might  be  uninterrupted.  When 
this  order  had  been  given  and  the  door  of  the 
sanctum  was  closed,  the  visitor  dropped  his  hand 
bag  in  front  of  his  chair  and  with  one  hand  cov 
ered  Parlby  with  a  revolver  in  excellent  condition 
and  with  the  other  produced  a  pint  flask. , 

"  I  guess  I  got  the  drop  on  you,  pard,  all  right : 
don't  move  'cause  I'm  kind  o'  nervous  in  m'  rin 
gers  and  this  here  gun's  got  a  blamed  easy  pull. 
Besides,  this  flask's  full  o'  nitro-glyceri-i-ine  an*  I 
might  drop  it,  an'  you  an'  me  an'  the  bank  'ud 
all  make  our  bow  in  hell  together.  Sit  down  care 
ful  like,  so's  not  to  set  off  no  electric  buttons  nor 
alarms;  there's  no  knowin'  how  little  'ud  make 
me  lose  my  hold  on  the  bottle.  There  now,  that's 
real  homelike  and  comfortable — reminds  me  o' 
mother.  Suppose  we  talks." 

Parlby  was  not  a  coward :  he  said  so  afterward : 
but  he  remembered  that  he  was  president  of  the 
bank  and  a  citizen  of  value  in  the  community, 
to  say  nothing  of  his  being  engaged  at  the  mo 
ment  to  marry  Miss  Ansted  of  the  San  Francisco 
Ansteds.  It  was  Parlby's  steady  practice  in  life 
to  say  nothing  of  private  motives  when  public 

237 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

motives  could  honestly  be  put  forward;  and  the 
man  certainly  did  look  as  if  he  meant  business, 
and  nitro-glyceri-i-ine  is  not  to  be  despised. 

"  It's  up  to  you  to  do  the  talking,"  said  Parl- 
by,  putting  up  a  creditable  "  front."  "  As  far  as 
I  see,  you've  made  an  ass  of  yourself,  whoever 
you  are.  All  I've  got  to  do  is  just  to  sit  quiet; 
you  can't  get  out  of  the  bank;  you  couldn't  win 
clear  in  the  street  if  you  did  get  out  of  the  bank ; 
you'll  go  to  the  Pen  for  this  morning's  joke.  If 
there's  anything  to  be  said,  it's  you  can  say  it." 

"  Sure !  I'll  say  it  fast  enough.  But  you  can 
come  off  your  perch  just  the  same.  If  I  was 
leary  of  the  Pen  I  shouldn't  be  here,  an'  you 
know  it.  I'll  talk  business  with  you  if  that's  what 
you  want;  I'm  on  my  uppers — see?  Either  I 
get  the  dough  I  want,  or  I  croak ;  an'  if  you  don't 
give  me  what  I  want  we  croak  together.  You're 
my  last  card,  an'  I'll  play  you,  by  God!  What 
you  say  o'  just  sittin'  still  's  tommyrot ;  you  make 
out  a  check  payable  to  yourself  for  the  sum  I 
name,  an'  have  the  stuff  brought  in  here  an' 
stowed  away  in  that  bag,  or  you've  seen  your 
luck  an'  we'll  both  of  us  know  what's  what." 

Parlby's  visitor  had  been  speaking  with  a 
fierce  intentness  that  was  convincing;  Parlby 
238 


Peggie  Niven 

thought  him  mad.  Perhaps  that  was  why  he  at 
tempted  to  reason  with  him. 

"  Even  if  I  got  you  the  stuff  and  stowed  it 
away  in  that  bag,  you  couldn't  get  away  with  it. 
You'd  better  talk  sense,  if  you've  got  any.  I'm 
not  to  be  bullied  in  my  own  office,  with  forty 
clerks  in  call,  armed  as  well  as  you.  That's  the 
last  word  I  have  to  say,  and  be  damned  to  you." 

There  was  a  battle  of  looks  for  a  moment  be 
tween  the  visitor  and  the  president.  It  was  the 
visitor  who  spoke — with  extreme  coolness. 

"  Mr.  Parlby,  you  will  take  up  that  pen  and 
write  what  I  tell  you.  I  take  my  chances  of  get 
ting  away,  once  the  stuff  is  in  my  hands.  You 
won't  give  an  alarm  till  I've  got  clear  of  the 
bank;  I  can  throw  a  flask  on  the  floor  outside 
as  well  as  here,  an'  you're  much  too  careful  of 
your  skin  to  take  any  risks.  You  put  up  a  bluff 
that  I'm  bughouse;  well! — I'm  not  so  bughouse 
but  I  can  see  you're  so  scared  of  me  you  can't  sit 
in  that  chair  without  holdin'  on.  You  take  up 
that  pen  an'  write  what  I  tell  you;  an'  be  quick 
about  it;  I'm  kind  o'  nervous,  as  I  said,  an'  this 
gun's  got  a  blamed  easy  pull  an'  the  outside  o' 
this  flask's  kind  o'  slippery." 

There  was  another  battle  of  looks  between  the 

239 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

two,  at  the  end  of  which  Parlby  shrugged  his 
shoulders  and  dropped  his  eyes — and  searched 
for  a  pen. 

It  is  said  that  the  special  officer  of  the  bank 
and  half  a  dozen  clerks  started  in  pursuit  before 
the  man  with  the  hand-bag  had  fairly  reached  the 
pavement.  There  must  have  been  two  men  with 
hand-bags;  such  coincidences  happen.  Possibly 
the  coincidence  was  not  accidental.  At  all 
events,  they  assailed  a  man  with  a  hand-bag,  and 
so  quickly  did  the  police  patrol  respond  to  the 
private  alarm  from  Parlby's  office  that  the  man 
was  not  yet  overpowered  when  the  wagon  ar 
rived.  When  he  was  taken  into  custody  he 
proved  to  be  the  wrong  man,  and  the  hand-bag 
proved  to  be  the  wrong  hand-bag.  It  is  possible 
that  this  mistake  might  not  have  been  made  if 
Parlby  had  personally  superintended  the  chase, 
but  he  remained  in  his  office:  he  was  accurately 
acquainted  with  the  properties  of  nitro-glyceri- 
i-ine,  which  is  quite  as  effective  in  a  paved  street 
as  in  a  marble-floored  building,  and  though  he 
may  have  had  no  regard  for  his  own  life,  he  had 
other  things  than  himself  to  think  of.  He 
thought  of  them. 

240 


Peggie  Niven 

The  next  day  there  was  found  in  an  alleyway 
at  the  rear  of  the  bank  a  suit  of  clothes,  a  re 
volver,  and  a  flask,  all  identified  by  Parlby  as  be 
longing  to  the  robber.  The  flask  was  found  to 
contain  sweet-oil.  In  the  minds  of  some  of  Parl- 
by's  fellow  citizens  this  discovery  confirmed  the 
notion  that  he  had  himself  contrived  the  robbery ; 
in  the  minds  of  others  it  served  simply  to  make 
him  ridiculous ;  in  the  minds  of  all  it  still  further 
discredited  him.  The  directors  began  to  suspect 
they  had  been  mistaken  in  their  idea  that  Parlby 
was  just  the  man  they  had  long  wanted  for  presi 
dent.  Certainly,  as  it  afterward  turned  out,  he 
had  made  a  great  blunder  in  parting  with  his  real 
estate. 

Peggie  was  never  again  "heard  to  say  that  she 
would  get  even  with  Parlby.  In  the  city  of  Blank 
there  was  little  of  anything  that  she  was  again 
heard  to  say:  she  soon  closed  out  her  interests 
there  at  a  great  profit  and  left  the  place,  disap 
pearing  into  the  beyond  where  she  still  remains. 
It  is  just  possible  that  she  feels  she  has  got  even 
with  Parlby,  though  it  is  questionable  whether 
she  would  hold  her  hand  if  the  chance  should 
offer  itself  to  get  even  with  him  again.  All 
things  considered,  it  is  doubtful  whether  Peggie's 
ruling  trait  is  gentleness. 
241 


A  DEAD  ONE. 
I. 

At  tramp  camps  in  the  United  States  a  favorite 
topic  for  discussion  is  the  whereabouts  of  Bar 
nard  Carr.  He  has  become  for  the  hoboes  a  mys 
terious  celebrity  whose  disappearance  from  the 
"  road  "  they  spend  hours  in  trying  to  explain. 
Some  think  he  is  again  "  doing  time  "  and  will 
appear  among  them  once  more  when  released; 
others  hold  fast  to  the  opinion  that  he  has 
"  croaked." 

He  was  never  a  great  celebrity  in  the  sense  that 
he  had  become  noted  for  a  mastery  in  some  one 
branch  of  Under- World  skill ;  but  he  was  consid 
ered  by  the  "  perfesh  "  and  the  Powers  That  Rule 
a  remarkably  clever  "  all-round  "  man:  Hoboes 
liked  him  because,  as  they  put  it,  he  was  not 
"  stuck  on  himself."  It  was  his  custom  when  in 
luck — and  for  ten  years  he  seemed  to  be  always 
in  luck — to  visit  them  at  their  hang-outs,  and 
hoboes  have  always  admired  a  crook  who  was 
242 


A  Dead  One 

sufficiently  independent  not  to  fear  loss  of  caste 
on  being  seen  in  their  company.  They  like  such 
a  man  in  about  the  same  way  that  certain  middle- 
class  people  like  a  titled  aristocrat  who  receives 
them  and  visits  them  as  equals.  In  the  Under 
World  tramps  are  men  who  have  tried  to  earn 
titles  and  failed,  or  having  earned  them,  have  lost 
them ;  the  successful  criminal  in  the  Under  World 
is  given  a  title  irrespective  of  his  wishes. 

One  of  the  present  scribes  met  Carr,  while  he 
was  at  the  top  of  his  reputation,  at  a  tramp  camp 
in  the  minutely  tramped  state  of  Pennsylvania. 
It  was  at  night,  and  a  circle  of  men  and  boys  were 
lounging  about  a  great  fire,  with  the  dome  of  the 
stars  for  a  tent  and  selected  railway  ties  for  camp- 
chairs  and  cots.  On  a  tie  apart,  a  tie  of  state,  sat 
a  well-dressed  stranger,  who  was  obviously  the 
guest  of  the  evening.  Even  a  tenderfoot  would 
have  picked  him  out  for  a  distinguished  foreigner 
in  Hoboland.  His  stylish  garb,  white  hands, 
and  polite  manner  were  evidence  enough  that  he 
was  no  ordinary  traveler  of  the  "  road." 

Newcomers  at  the  camp  were  not  left  long  in 
ignorance  of  the  man's  identity.  The  scribe  had 
hardly  taken  a  seat  on  one  of  the  ties  when  a  lad 
at  his  side  nudged  him,  and  said  in  an  awestruck 

243 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

whisper :  "  That's  Carr,  the  great  perfesh'nul." 
A  heathen  could  not  have  directed  attention  to 
one  of  his  deities  with  more  reverence.  The  man 
seemed  to  be  oblivious  of  the  regard  in  which  he 
was  held  by  the  camp.  His  eyes  were  fixed  on 
the  fire,  and  he  spoke  only  occasionally.  "  How's 
Slim  comin'  up?  "  he  asked  once,  turning  to  a 
man  on  his  right,  referring  evidently  to  some  ab 
sent  roadster,  and  he  commented  on  the  weather 
and  the  like,  but  he  had  little  to  say  about  himself, 
and  answered  questions  in  monosyllables.  When 
he  got  up  to  leave  he  dropped  a  ten-dollar  bill  on 
the  tie,  saying:  "  Wet  'er  up  on  me,  boys,"  and 
disappeared  up  the  track. 

The  tramps  commented  on  his  career  and  per 
sonality  after  he  had  gone. 

"  How  that  bloke  holds  out !  "  one  exclaimed. 
"  If  he's  done  a  day  in  the  Pen,  he's  done  fifteen 
years.  He's  got  the  nerve;  you  can't  see  a  sign 
o'  weakenin'  in  him.  Behanged  'f  I  can  explain 
it." 

"  He'll  go  to  pieces  all  of  a  sudden,  some  day," 
another  declared.  "  You  see  'f  he  don't. 
There's  men  like  that :  they  don't  crack  nor  bend, 
they  bust.  We'll  see  him  here  on  the  turf  yet. 
I  tell  you,  the  bloke  don't  live  that  can  take 
244 


A  Dead  One 

stretchers  in  the  Pen  the  way  Carr  has,  an*  not 
bust.  'T  ain't  in  human  nature.  'Course  he's 
holdin'  out  longer'n  some;  he's  nervy,  an'  's  got 
good  health;  but  I  gamble  coin  he'll  be  hittin' 
the  road  after  a  while.  He's  a  nice  bloke  right 
'nough,  but  what  I'm  tellin'  you  's  the  truth.  A 
crook  's  built  like  other  folks,  an'  can't  live  on 
nerve  forever." 

"  They  say  't  he's  salted  down  a  big  pile  for  old 
age  all  the  same,"  a  westerner  remarked. 
"  'Frisco  Blackie  told  me  the  other  day  that  Carr 
was  one  o'  the  richest  crooks  in  the  country." 

"  Rich  in  your  eye,"  sneered  an  old  man  from 
Chicago.  "  I'll  bet  Carr  don't  salt  down  any- 
thin'  from  one  year's  end  to  the  other.  Crooks 
ain't  bankers;  what  the  devil's  the  matter  with 
you?  They  blow  their  dough  as  fast  as  they  get 
it;  and  right  too;  some  lawyer  or  Front-Office 
stiff  Jud  cop  it  out  if  they  saved  it  up.  I'll  bet 
Carr  ain't  got  over  ten  thousand  put  past,  an' 
he'll  spend  all  o'  that  prob'ly  the  next  time  he's 
pinched.  I  tell  you  it's  the  fly  cops  an'  lawyers 
that  get  the  crooks'  coin.  I  ain't  heard  of  a 
chief  in  a  big  city  that  didn't  retire,  as  they  call 
it,  with  his  pockets  full  o'  dough.  Them's  the 
blokes  that  does  the  savin'.  'T  ain't  the  crook." 


The   Powers  That  Prey 

"  What  about  Detroit  Fraxy  an'  his  blocks  o' 
houses?  "  asked  a  kid. 

"  Detroit  Fraxy — you  make  me  tired !  He'll 
lose  'em.  He'll  get  in  a  hole  some  day,  an'  have 
to  cough  'em  up  them  houses.  Look  at  Carr. 
He  had  one  o'  the  best  payin'  gamblin'  joints  in 
'Frisco  four  years  ago :  he  had  to  deed  it  over  to 
his  lawyer  fer  chewin'  the  rag  fer  'im  in  that  mur 
der  scrape.  It's  all  right  'bout  crooks  makin' 
dough,  but  it's  holdin'  of  it  that  counts.  God 
never  yet  made  a  crook  that  has  stuck  to  the 
graft  long,  takin'  chances  an'  stretchers,  an'  come 
out  rich." 

The  hang-out  broke  up  soon  after  this  state 
ment,  and  the  men  took  trains  in  different  direc 
tions. 

During  the  following  five  years  the  scribe^  saw 
Carr  twice,  and  heard  of  him  once.  On  both  oc 
casions  when  he  saw  Carr,  the  man  was  apparent 
ly  still  in  luck.  He  was  dressed  well,  had  money 
"  to  burn,"  was  courted  by  his  companions,  and 
had  no  complaint  to  make  beyond  the  statement 
that  he  felt  that  he  was  getting  old. 

"  Had  a  year  to  do  in  Alabama  not  long  ago," 
he  explained  at  the  second  meeting,  "  and  the  Stir 
was  so  damp  that  my  bones  got  wet.  I  don't 
246 


A  Dead  One 

mind  when  they  S"ive  me  steam-heat  in  my  cell, 
but  it  rather  uses  me  up  otherwise.  A  fellow 
gets  cranky,  you  know,  after  he's  been  shut  up  a 
good  deal.  As  a  kid,  I  didn't  give  a  damn  where 
they  put  me,  but  the  guards  get  all  my  money 
now  for  things  't  I  think  I  got  to  have.  That's 
about  the  only  thing  't  I  keep  a  bank  account 
for — to  get  priv'leges  when  the  pinch  comes. 
And  do  you  know  't  I  don't  feel  comf'table  any 
more  in  a  large  room.  I  ain't  done  such  a  hell 
of  a  lot  o'  time  compared  with  some  blokes,  but 
I  been  livin'  in  cells  off  an'  on  for  the  las'  sixteen 
years,  an'  I've  got  so  used  to  'em  't  I  always  ask 
for  a  small  room  now  when  I  go  to  a  hotel.  I 
have  enough  dough  sometimes  to  pay  for  a  whole 
suite,  as  they  call  it,  but  I  wouldn't  feel  right  in 
one.  Give  me  a  chair,  a  washstand,  an'  six  feet 
to  stretch  out  in,  an'  old  Carr's  happy  as  the  rest 
of  'em.  You  see  crooks  sometimes  't  ain't  con 
tent  till  they  got  a  whole  house  to  themselves,  but 
I  guess  they  ain't  done  as  much  time  as  me.  I 
tell  you,  pard,  on  the  level — the  Pen  does  change 
you.  I'm  sure  't  I'd  been  a  bigger  man  'f  I 
hadn't  been  cooped  up  so  much.  Didn't  no 
more'n  begin  to  grow  than  I  got  pinched,  an'  I 
ain't  had  a  fightin'  chance  to  grow  since." 
17  247 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

"  Your  nerve  's  all  right,  isn't  it?  "  the  scribe 
asked. 

"  It's  all  right  so  far,  but  you  never  know  when 
it'll  go  back  on  you.  I'm  goin'  to  try  an'  put 
past  a  stake  before  long  for  old  age.  I'm  bound 
to  weaken  after  a  while,  an'  I  ought  to  have  a 
bank  account  to  live  on.  'Bout  five  years  more 
'11  see  me  settled  down,  I  guess.  I  ought  to 
plant  a  good  swag  by  that  time.  'Course  it'll  be 
hard  to  chuck  the  business,  but  you  got  to  cool 
down  a  little  when  you're  gettin'  shaky  on  your 
pins,  an'  I'd  rather  like  to  die  easy.  God  knows, 
I've  lived  hard!" 

About  two  years  after  this  conversation  there 
appeared  in  a  Western  newspaper  an  account  of 
Carr's  arrest  for  an  offense  committed  on  the 
Coast.  It  read  thus :  "  Barnard  Carr,  alias 
Cincie  Shorty,  was  arrested  by  the  local  police 
last  night.  The  details  of  his  crime  have  not  yet 
come  in,  but  there  is  no  doubt  in  the  minds  of 
the  police  that  Carr  is  the  man  wanted.  The 

dispatch  from  said  that  one  of  the  local 

banks  had  been  '  taken  in  '  by  a  forged  check  call 
ing  for  $15,000,  and  the  description  of  the  al 
leged  forger  fits  Carr  exactly.  The  man  has  one 
of  the  longest  police  blotter  records  in  this  coun 
try.  He  has  operated  with  one  '  graft '  and  an- 
248 


A  Dead  One 

other  in  practically  every  State  of  the  Union,  and 
is  not  unknown  in  Mexico.  On  account  of  his 
neat  appearance  and  unobtrusive  manner,  he  is 
sometimes  called  '  The  Gentleman  Crook/  but 
he  fraternizes  with  tramps  as  well  as  professional 
criminals.  He  is  reported  to  take  crime  as  seri 
ously  as  an  artist  takes  his  art,  and  the  neat '  jobs  ' 
that  he  has  planned  and  done  bear  out  the  report. 
The  sheriff  states  that  he  was  welcomed  by  the 
other  prisoners  in  the  jail  as  a  most  distinguished 
personage.  They  gathered  about  him  on  his  ar 
rival,  shook  his  hand,  and  offered  him  the  best  cell 
in  the  little  prison.  He  is  said  to  be  very  popu 
lar  among  criminals  of  all  classes.  If  guilty  of 
the  crime  for  which  he  has  been  arrested,  the 
probability  is  that  he  will  be  given  a  severe  sen 
tence.  Carr  has  employed  the  best  counsel  in 
the  city,  and  a  telegram  has  been  sent  to  the 
famous  criminal  lawyer  Ames,  in  'Frisco,  so  a 

hard  fight  may  be  expected,  but  county 

has  a  poor  opinion  of  forgers,  and  will  probably 
back  up  its  opinion  with  a  very  pugnacious  prose 
cution.  We  will  report  the  trial  in  detail;  it 
will  probably  come  up  during  the  present  term  of 
court." 

Six  months  later  the  Under  World  was  noti 
fied  that  Barnard  Carr  had  received  eight  years. 
249 


II. 

A  short  time  ago  the  two  scribes  were  taking  a 
stroll  in  Lime  Street,  Liverpool.  At  night  it  is 
one  of  the  most  instructive  promenades  in  Eng 
land  for  a  man  who  wishes  to  know  things;  and 
one  can  complete  investigations  that  have  been 
begun  in  "  the  main  stem  "  of  towns  thousands 
of  miles  away.  The  four  continents  contribute 
to  the  life  on  the  pavement  as  well  as  in  the  places 
of  entertainment,,  and  the  passers-by  and  perform 
ers  jabber  in  many  tongues  and  dialects. 

The  scribes  drifted  into  a  "  Free  and  Easy," 
where  men  and  women  sing  songs,  and  then  pass 
their  hats  and  bonnets  around  for  pennies  and 
ha'pennies.  It  was  a  sordid  little  place  with  a 
smell  in  it  that  was  composed  of  all  smells  of  neg 
lect,  tobacco,  and  alcohol.  Any  one  in  the  audi 
ence  who  had  a  voice  and  a  song,  or  thought  he 
had,  might  take  the  floor  and  put  his  opinion  to 
the  test  of  popularity.  When  volunteers  are  few, 
or  backward  about  exposing  their  talent  to  gibes 
that  are  none  too  delicate,  a  master  of  cere- 
250 


A  Dead  One 

monies  jumps  up  and  says :  "  Who'll  sing? — 
Come  on  now,  be  sharp!  Somebody  give  us  a 
wheezer  or  a  clog  " ;  and  the  piano-player  strikes 
the  ivories,  and  some  one  bursts  forth  into  song. 

On  the  evening  in  question  there  had  been  a 
lull  in  the  proceedings,  and  to  break  it  the  master 
of  ceremonies  turned  to  a  shabbily  dressed  little 
man  sitting  alone  near  the  piano-player. 

"  Barnie,  you  little  tramp,  are  you  sober 
enough  to  give  us  a  song?  "  he  asked.  "  There's 
a  good  'ouse  to-night,  an'  you'll  get  a  swag  if  you 
let  'er  run  right." 

Barnie  gave  the  "  'ouse  "  the  old  jail  song  of 
the  Boston  burglar,  which  runs : 

"  I  was  brought  up  in  Boston, 

a  place  you  all  know  well; 
Brought  up  by  honest  parents, 

and  now  I've  gone  to  hell; 
But  my  character  was  taken, 

I  had  to  hit  the  trail; 
And  his  honor  he  shoved  me  into  jail !  " 

The  song  was  none  of  the  best,  and  the  man's 
voice  was  cracked,  and  the  piano-player  knew  but 
little  of  the  tune,  but  the  audience  cried  "  'ear, 
'ear !  "  and  clapped,  and  Barnie's  hat  was  well 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

lined  with  copper.  The  collection  finished,  he 
took  a  seat  near  the  scribes. 

"  I  ain't  much  on  the  melojous  howl,"  he  said, 
with  a  significant  grin,  "  but  I  can  toss  off  a  glass 
o'  somethin'  hot.  I  guess  you  fellows  is  Yanks, 
ain't  you?" 

He  was  told  that  he  had  guessed  right. 

"Thought  so.  What'll  you  take? — on  me! 
Can't  give  you  sham,  but  I'm  good  for  anythin' 


in  reason." 


;<  You're  a  Yank  yourself,  aren't  you?  "  one  of 
the  scribes  queried,  when  the  drinks  had  been 
brought. 

"  Well,  that's  as  may  be." 

"  Name's  Carr,  isn't  it?  " 

The  little  vagrant  gave  both  scribes  a  search 
ing  look. 

"  Who  are  you,  blokes?    D'  I  know  you?  " 

One  of  the  scribes  reminded  him  of  previous 
meetings  in  the  "  States." 

"  Well,  I'll  be  hanged !  Say,  come  down  to 
my  hang-out,  will  you?  You've  paid  for  this 
stuff;  I'll  get  some  booze  an'  a  candle,  an'  we'll 
chew  the  rag.  There's  a  lot  I  want  to  know 
about  old  times;  too  public  here." 

We  left  the  "  Free  and  Easy  "  and  the  smell, 
252 


A  Dead  One 

and  Barnie  led  the  way  toward  the  docks.  He 
insisted  on  purchasing  some  beer  and  a  candle 
in  a  shop  in  the  last  street  before  turning  into  a 
maze  of  murky  alleyways,  and  then  guided  us  to 
a  great  barrel  or  hogshead,  hidden  away  among 
broken  boxes,  discarded  ship-timbers  and  as 
sorted  debris. 

"  'T  ain't  no  parlor-car,  pals,"  he  explained, 
lighting  the  candle  and  setting  it  in  a  tin  socket 
in  the  barrel,  "  but  it  fits  me,  an'  that's  all  I  want. 
Will  you  sit  outside  or  come  in?  Can't  all  get 
in,  that's  sure." 

The  air  was  stagnant  and  warm  to  the  touch, 
and  even  in  the  open  the  lungs  labored.  We  de 
clined  the  hospitality  of  the  barrel  and  sat  on 
some  planks  outside.  It  was  some  time  before 
Barnie's  talk  turned  naturally  upon  himself;  he 
kept  asking  about  this  pal  and  that  pal,  how 
things  were  "  coming  up  over  home,"  who  were 
still  holding  out  in  the  "  perfesh,"  who  had 
gone  under,  which  "  coppers  "  were  in  power, 
which  "  stirs  "  were  easy  or  hard,  what  good 
"  touches  "  had  been  made  lately,  who  were  "  set 
tled  "  and  who  free,  and  about  various  other 
things  connected  with  the  life  in  which  his  imag 
ination  still  dwelt  with  a  certain  pride.  At  last, 

253 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

however,  when  the  scribes  had  answered  his 
queries  as  best  they  could,  he  said  suddenly : 

"  I  s'pose  you  want  to  hear  my  rag-chewer 
now?  " 

The  scribes  smiled  and  nodded.  The  little 
man's  shoulders  twitched,  he  took  a  fresh  piece  of 
"  snipe  "  from  his  pocket,  bowed  his  head  for  a 
moment  as  if  ashamed,  looked  up  again,  and  be 
gan: 

"  It's  none  too  nice  to  tell ;  but  you  blokes  has 
known  me  when  I  was  top  of  the  heap  and  you 
will  understand.  'Course  I  could  'a'  croaked 
myself,  an'  the  whole  thing  'ud  'a'  been  off,  but 
the  fact  is  I  didn't  have  even  nerve  enough  for 
that.  That  last  stretcher  on  the  Coast  dreened 
me  out.  They  used  me  hard,  that's  where  it  Is, 
an'  I  didn't  make  any  good  time  either.  I  basted 
a  guard  for  callin'  me  a  liar,  an'  the  warden  didn't 
remember  to  forgit  it.  They  tucked  me  away 
in  the  dungeon  ten  times  just  for  luck  like.  I 
had  a  few  thousand  when  they  turned  me  loose, 
but  I  spent  'em  travelin'.  I  thought 't  I'd  brace 
up,  p'r'aps,  'f  I  got  a  change,  so  I  came  over  here, 
an'  for  a  while  I  drifted  all  over  the  shop.  If  my 
dough  'ud  'a'  held  out  I'd  be  on  the  mooch  yet, 
I  guess.  I  only  had  twenty  pounds  when  I  got 
254 


A  Dead  One 

back  to  London,  but  my  nerve  was  no  good,  an' 
I  tried  for  a  job  on  the  level,  but  't  wasn't  no 
use.  A  bloke  that's  used  up  for  swipin'  ain't 
up  to  no  kind  o'  work,  good  or  bad.  'Course  I 
could  'a'  turned  fly  cop.  A  Yank  copper  in  Lon 
don  offered  me  good  money  'f  I'd  work  for  him, 
but  I  didn't  want  to  be  a  mouthpiece,  an'  that's 
what  I'd  'a'  been  'f  I'd  taken  the  job.  A  fellow 
that  the  push  has  treated  square  is  a  dirty  sucker 
to  go  an'  live  on  what  he  knows  after  he  gets  used 
up.  If  I  had  my  way,  I'd  shoot  every  son  of  a 
cur  of  a  mouthpiece.  Well,  I  tried  gamblin'  for 
a  bit,  but  I  couldn't  win  nothin' ;  a  man  that's 
down  on  'is  luck,  shouldn't  touch  the  bones ;  luck 
brings  luck,  an'  bad  luck  brings  bad:  you  take 
my  tip.  I  came  here  to  Liverpool  with  some 
London  gamblers,  but  I  was  out  of  it  here  too 
an'  got  flat  on  my  uppers.  I  could  'a'  raised 
some  dough,  I  guess,  'f  I'd  telegraphed  home; 
my  rep  was  good  for  a  thousand  or  two,  an'  the 
boys  'ud  'a'  sent  it  over  prob'ly ;  but  a  bloke  don't 
like  to  go  home  after  he  knows  't  his  nerve's  gone. 
Crooks  is  a  charitable  lot  right  enough,  an'  stand 
by  a  fellow  when  'e's  just  hard  hit,  but  they're 
queer 's  the  devil  when  they  run  up  against  a  dead 
one.  I  know  how  't  is,  'cause  dead  ones  have 

255 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

tackled  me  when  I  was  on  my  legs,  an'  I  hated  to 
look  at  'em.  You  feel  the  way  you  do  when 
you're  in  an  insane  asylum.  'Course  a  dead  one 
ain't  bughouse  or  anythin'  like  that,  but  when 
you  look  at  him  you  keep  thinkin'  that  p'r'aps 
it'll  be  your  turn  next,  an'  you  get  shivery  like. 
'T  ain't  nice  in  any  push,  respectable  or  other 
wise,  to  rubber  at  a  bloke  that's  gone  to  pieces, 
an'  I  was  too  proud  to  let  any  push  rubber  at  me. 
I  knew  't  I  couldn't  steal  worth  a  damn  'f  I  went 
back — any  dead  one  knows  that  when  he's  really 
lost  his  grip — an'  I  wasn't  goin'  to  have  the  push 
an'  the  coppers  over  there  belly-achin'  around 
about  Carr  bein'  laid  on  the  shelf.  The  coppers 
in  the  States  are  the  very  devil  on  a  dead  one. 
They  keep  tryin'  to  make  him  cough  up'  what  he 
knows,  an'  if  he  don't  cough,  they're  liable  as  not. 
to  pinch  him  for  a  vag.  W'y,  I've  seen  'em  act 
ually  railroad  a  dead  one  to  the  Pen  on  a  fake 
charge  jus'  'cause  he  wouldn't  help  'em  get  wise. 
I  ain't  stuck  on  England  or  the  coppers  here,  but 
the  coppers  can't  cut  up  with  a  bloke  here  the 
way  they  do  in  the  States.  'Course  they  ham 
mer  me  every  now  an'  then  when  they  take  me 
to  the  station-house,  but  that's  just  a  habit  they've 
got  into.  You  see  the  people  over  here  won't 
256 


A  Dead  One 

let  'em  do  any  hammerin'  in  the  streets,  an'  as 
they've  got  to  get  exercise  somehow,  they  do  the 
hammerin'  in  the  station-house.  They  ain't  so 
wise  as  our  coppers,  but  they  ain't  so  crooked 
either.  I'd  'a'  been  dead  long  before  I  was  'f 
I'd  been  an  English  crook.  A  bloke's  got  to 
take  his  med'cine  over  here  if  they  catch  him,  an' 
it's  the  med'cine  that  kills.  'Course  some  holds 
out  longer' n  I  did,  but  twenty-four  years  inside 
ain't  a  bad  record,  an'  that's  the  time  I  spent  in 
the  Pen.  They've  had  me  shut  up  nearly  half 
my  life. 

"  If  I'd  stayed  in  the  States  I  s'pose  I'd  be 
livin'  with  the  hoboes  now.  They  ain't  bad 
blokes  to  pal  with,  but 't  'ud  hurt  to  have  to  drop 
down  into  their  push.  'Course  that's  what  the 
dead  ones  do  over  there — go  trampin' — but  I 
ain't  sorry  't  I'm  not  with  'em ;  I  don't  know  how 
to  beg  as  much  as  a  piece  o'  bread.  After  I've 
sung  a  song  or  done  a  bit  of  a  double-shuffle,  I 
don't  mind  passin'  my  hat  around  in  the  pub,  but 
I  get  ashamed  when  I  ask  for  somethin'  outright. 
You  wouldn't  think  that  a  bloke  that's  been 
mixed  up  in  as  much  crooked  work  as  I  have 
'ud  be  that  way,  but  I'm  givin'  it  to  you  straight. 
If  I  should  go  to  a  back  door  to-morrow  mornin' 

257 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

an'  ask  for  a  poke-out,  I'd  blush  an'  stutter  like  a 
bashful  kid. 

"  I  tried  polishin'  shoes  for  a  while,  but  the 
'  shines  '  guyed  me  so  't  I  quit.  I  wasn't  no 
good  at  it  anyhow.  All  I  can  do  is  to  float 
around,  sing  a  song  when  people  '11  listen  to  me, 
an'  hold  down  this  old  barrel.  This  place  's  been 
my  hang-out  for  nearly  a  year  now.  I  use  to 
sleep  in  an  old  cellar,  but  I  had  to  mooch  last 
flittin'  day,  as  they  call  it.  When  they  move 
over  here  they  say  they  flit. 

"  Sometimes  I  think  I'd  like  to  go  back  home, 
but  'course  I'll  never  get  there.  When  I'm  sober 
I  try  to  make  out 't  I'm  English,  but  I  guess  the 
blokes  is  next.  The  other  day  I  got  pretty 
jagged,  an'  forgot  all  about  bein'  English.  Some 
jays  over  in  a  pub  't  I  go  to  was  runnin'  down  the 
States,  an'  I  called  'em  down;  I  told  'em  't  we 
could  stick  their  bloody  little  island  in  one  corner 
of  our  country  and  't  'ud  take  Stanley  twenty 
years  to  find  it.  'Course  they  basted  me — I  al 
ways  get  it  in  the  neck  when  I'm  jagged — but  I 
didn't  mind.  After  you're  dead,  a  big  quiet  like 
comes  on  you  an'  you  don't  care  what  happens. 

"  It  'ud  be  nice  to  see  some  o'  the  boys  again, 
an'  I'd  rather  like  to  croak  on  the  other  side,  but 

258 


A  Dead  One 

I  don't  think  about  such  things  much.  They 
got  to  bury  me  wherever  I  croak.  Some  o'  the 
girls  up  in  Lime  Street  took  up  a  collection  for 
a  pal  't  I  had  that  croaked,  an'  buried  him  in 
style,  but  I  told  'em  they'd  better  'a'  given  a  big 
feed  to  his  friends.  I  used  to  be  a  great  bloke 
for  style,  but  style  don't  cut  no  ice  with  me  any 
more.  'Course  't  ain't  nice  to  wind  up  in  a  bar 
rel  the  way  I  have,  but  you  can't  keep  on  top 
forever,  an'  I'm  glad  enough  sometimes  't  I  don't 
have  to  worry  'bout  my  reputation  any  more. 
You  get  just  as  tired  out  tryin'  to  hold  your 
posish  in  the  crook  world  as  you  do  with  the  mil 
lionaires.  There  ain't  a  fly  crook  livin'  that  don't 
worry  'bout  droppin'  down  into  a  low  class.  I 
don't  have  them  worries,  an'  it's  a  bigger  relief 
'n  you'd  think.  There  ain't  no  place  for  me  to 
drop  to — I've  reached  '  de  limit.' 

"  If  the  blokes  over  here  knew  me  an'  pointed 
me  out  to  strangers,  'course  I'd  feel  my  tumble 
worse  'n  I  do,  but  nobody  bothers  me.  You're 
the  first  blokes  I've  talked  to  this  way  since  I 
struck  Liverpool.  I  don't  mind  'f  you  tell  the 
blokes  at  home  about  me.  It  'ud  'a'  hurt  a  little 
couple  o'  years  ago  'cause  I  had  some  hope  then, 
but  it  don't  matter  now;  nothing  matters — see? 

259 


The  Powers  That  Prey 

No  one  can  do  anythin'  for  me.  A  city  mis 
sionary  got  me  round  to  his  shop  a  few  months 
ago  an'  tried  to  brace  me  up,  but  I  was  square. 
'  You're  all  right,  boss,'  I  said  to  him,  '  but  you 
can't  help  me  'cause  I'm  a  dead  one/  He  didn't 
understand  what '  dead  one  '  meant,  an'  I  tried  to 
explain,  but  he  couldn't  catch  on,  an'  kep'  talkin' 
away  'bout  religion.  I  give  it  to  him  straight. 
'  Religion,  boss,'  I  told  him,  '  is  for  them  that 
cares.  I  don't  care.  I'm  dreened  out.  You 
can  lock  me  up,  or  do  what  you  please — 't  won't 
change  me  a  bit.  My  clock  's  run  down.' 
'Course  there's  them  that  laughs  'bout  a  bloke 
losin'  his  grip  an'  don't  believe  in  it,  but  they're 
foolish.  The  time  was  when  I  wasn't  leary  of 
holdin'  up  an  express  train  single-handed ;  it's  all 
I  can  do  now  to  scrape  up  nerve  enough  to  kill 
the  fleas  in  this  barrel.  Some  people  calls  the 
disease  the  shivers,  an'  others  calls  it  the  blind 
eye.  I  calls  it  the  staggers.  You  stagger  in 
front  of  everythin'  that  it  needs  grit  to  do.  Some 
day  I'll  stagger  into  a  hole,  an'  the  barkeeps 
won't  have  any  more  Barnie  to  baste,  an'  the 
girls  won't  have  to  chip  in  an'  help  pay  for  my 
song.  But,  I've  had  my  fling  in  my  day,  men, 
an'  don't  you  forgit  it,"  and  for  an  instant  his  eyes 
snapped,  and  he  held  his  head  high. 

THE   END 


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